Elizabethan Love: Mistaken Identity and White Lies
by SilentControversy
Summary: Addison comes to Seattle, but her true relationship to Derek is not formally stated. Chapter 6: MerDer, Addek, Addex. Alex and Derek launch themselves into a verbal battle. A long-kept secret is revealed.
1. Save Me

**Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy, or Shakepeare for that matter.**

A/N: SERIES!! Meredith/Derek fans, do not be alarmed. Although this first chapter is Addison-centric, it still has it's Mer/Der, and Addek moments alike.

* * *

**Elizabethan Love: Mistaken Identity and White Lies **

Chapter 1: Save Me

_Captain: __It is perchance that you yourself were saved._

Addison Montgomery-Shepherd rested her fingertips on the hood of her car, unconsciously tapping out an inconsistent rhythm. It was somewhat late, around seven or eight o'clock, she guessed. The rain was falling heavily, and the drops hit between her fingers on the car, making splatters on the dark surface.

Everything was black today. She was in mourning. The large, almost obnoxious, windows into the hospital revealed her worst nightmare. Even through the blur of the rain, it was crystal-clear that the love of her life was having an affair.

She lifted her hand up from car, and brought it up to her umbrella. Both of her hands gripped the skinny handle tightly. Her fingers overlapped, the tips pressing harshly against her knuckles. She decided that she would only withstand a few more seconds of this hell, before she had to find a bit of courage to walk into the hospital and confront him.

She took a few more moments to reel in the full agony of her punishment. It was essential that she stepped into Derek's shoes, the night of her own affair. This was the only way that forgiveness would be conceivable.

She whimpered. Ever since she stepped out of the car, since she saw Derek through that window, she felt that a rock had taken up residence in her throat and it wouldn't pass no matter how hard she swallowed. As if that was enough, the smiley blonde's appearance had caused the pressure on her chest to become inherently noticeable.

Addison supposed that it wasn't the umbrella's fault, but it seemed that a tight grip was the only solution to the tension coiling in her stomach.

Only a few more moments of torture, she decided. Watching her husband laughing, and kissing another woman. Were they in love?

Her stomach clenched and twisted a few times, and Addison leaned over, with an open mouth, prepared to rid her body of whatever came up. But nothing happened, she just choked, and flattened her hand against the wet car to regain her balance.

She straightened up. There was nothing else that she could do. She tried so hard to make herself feel enough pain, but it was impossible. The skinny blonde could press herself up against Derek as much as she wanted, and Derek could even take her right there in the lobby. It didn't matter. Regardless of what happened, Addison was always going to love Derek.

The couple seemed so cheerful, Derek, especially. His eyes shone with a brightness she hadn't seen for years. Addison only wished it could be her to make him that happy. She really did love him. Gazing at her best friend, she decided at that moment that she was going to do what was best for her husband. With this momentum, she pushed her body off the car.

Her black heels clicked against the dar pavement. She took long, sharp stps, giving off an air of confidence. The automatic doors opened and a rush of warmth surrounded her, pulling her into unfamiliar territory. She closed her umbrella without a struggle, and resumed her egotistical act.

Derek spotted her when there was about five feet between her and the blond. His glare shot icicles into her before he stepped away and uttered in disgust, "Addison. _What _are you doing here?"

Addison was taken aback for a second. She hadn't expected this level of contempt from him. "I came to see you," she replied, innocently. They watched each other for a few moments. She hadn't seen him since he walked out of the door that night. But after eleven years of marriage, they could still communicate without speaking a word.

Addison caught his eyes for a good two minutes, but she broke eye contact when she noticed the blonde's fingers wrap around Derek's arm possesively. Confusion, and then, jealously threaded through her eyes.

Addison realized for the first time that the blonde had no idea who she was. Derek had lied. He completely cut Addison out of his life; this was so much more than how he used to ignore her in New York.

Feeling the blonde's confused stare on her, she twitched in fear. Not because she physically feared her, but because Addison needed this woman to like her.

So, in the spirit of friendship, Addison offered her hand to Derek's mistress. "Hi, I'm Addison Montgomery. I'm Derek's friend from New York."

Derek swallowed nervously. Addison could tell that he was surprised by her move. His wife, the stone cold adulturess bitch was sparing him? She almost laughed as she watched him squirm unconmfortably.

Addison smiled at the blonde. "And you must be..."

"Meredith." Meredith eagerly shook her hand. "That's a relief. I thought you might have been an ex-girlfriend or something."

Derek's nervous laughter rumbled in his throat. He was going to play Addison's game as long as she would let him.

Derek's reaction left Addison with a mixed expression on her face. She had almost expected him to stand up for her. Her eyes widened at his blunt denial of their marriage. She was stunned. Luckily enough, her mouth had managed to disconnect itself from her brain, and started to speak on it's own.

She laughed along with Derek, smiling and joking. "Please. We're just friends. I'm married." She held up her ring, and glanced down at Derek's left hand. Of course, he wasn't wearing his.

"Well," Meredith intertwined her fingers with Derek's, "as you probably know, Derek's a pretty private guy. I'm so glad that I finally get to meet someone from his life in New York."

"Actually," Derek started, unable to look at Addison, "we were just colleagues. We hardly even knew each other."

She had been degraded to colleague. The sting of Derek's words burned straight through Addison's body, and she fidgited.

Meredith glanced back and forth between Addison and Derek, confused, once again. "But she just said that she came to see you."

Derek finally moved his eyes up Addison's body, taking in her outfit, and came to a rest staring straight into her. He saw a flash of heartache, and a plea for mercy. He almost felt sorry for her, but all he had to do was imagine her and Mark in bed together, and he hated her all over again.

When Derek didn't come up with an answer, Addison offered her own, "I'm here for work. Richard called me for a consult." This was a little bit of truth; she figured Meredith deserved that much.

Derek tugged on Meredith's arm. "Let's go. I want to spend the little time that we do have together."

Meredith's eyes lit up. "You should come with us, Addison. I want to get to know Derek's friends better."

"No," Derek grunted. He didn't want Addison anywhere near Meredith. Addison's behavior tonight had been quite shady, and he didn't want her blurting out the truth any time soon. "Let's just go. We're wasting time," he complained.

By this time, Addison had become numb to all of Derek's remarks. She just wanted to get of there- and fast. "I'm not sure that would be a good idea..."

Meredith whipped her head around to look at Derek. "You could stop being so rude. She's nice and-"

"Meredith," he sighed. "will you wait for me outside?" He needed to tell Addison something without Meredith hearing.

Addison observed that he was still Prince Charming in Meredith's eyes, and there would be no compromise with this.

"Why?" Meredith was getting curious. She let go of Derek's hand. "What's going on?"

"I've got to go upstairs and check in with Richard," Addison interrupted. Derek was becoming angry, Meredith was getting upset, and this was much more trouble than she had asked for. All she wanted was a chance to talk to Derek in private and apologize. She wanted forgiveness, and she was, if anything, farther away from her goal than she had been.

Meredith completely ignored Addison for the time being, and shot Derek an annoyed look. "You said we would be honest and open with each other. Sometimes, I feel like I don't know you." She stared up at Derek, her big green eyes almost convincing him to tell the truth.

He rested his hands on her shoulders, and they seemed to envelope her tiny body. "Please. I'll explain everything when we get to the restaurant. I just don't want to miss our reservations because I've been looking forward to being with you this entire day."

Addison wanted to run, but she was frozen awkwardly in her place. She knew Derek was lying again and she didn't want to be around for any more of it.

Meredith smiled sweetly. She wasn't convinced, but distracted. Addison found it her to be somewhat naive when it came to Derek. Then again, Addison really couldn't judge her because once upon a time, she had fallen for the same act.

Derek pressed his keys into Meredith's hand. "Will you go bring the car to the front? I'll be right out, I promise."

Meredith nodded, and kissed him. She turned to Addison. "It was nice meeting you. I hope we'll get a chance to talk later."

"Definitely," Addison replied, rather shakily. She was still reeling from the kiss that they had just shared. It wasn't a hot, passionate lover's kiss, but more of a couple's kiss. One of those where you just know that it's going to last forever, and you just need a little reminder. She and Derek used to share those kisses, and it was just now that she observed the false hope in them.

If she was a good person, she would warn Meredith. Tell her that Derek was a liar, about to break her heart. But she didn't want to make Derek angry or sad either. After Meredith left, Derek turned away to face the window with rain streaming down it. He watched her make her way down to the parking lot as he carefully thought about what he was going to say.

Addison stepped hesitantly beside him. "I'm sor-"

"Don't talk." Derek whispered softly, as she was interrupting his thought. But soon he realized his anger more fully, and he said, a little more fiercely. "Don't say anything."

He turned toward her, and she didn't know whether to back away or to hold him close to her. He made the first move, taking one step towards her, their faces inches apart.

He spoke quietly, but passionately in a low voice. "Stay away from Meredith. Do not talk to her, do not look at her. She will not find out the truth because as soon as you are done here, you will leave. I don't want you to be a part of our lives. Are we clear?"

"Derek?" Addison's eyes filled up with tears. How could he speak to her like this? What kind of marriage is this?

"Addison." His eyes stared sternly into hers. "I want you out of my life."

Addison blinked away the wetness, not letting it fall. "Can't you just let me say one thing?"

Derek didn't answer, he just turned away to watch for Meredith.

She whispered enough, conveying all of her pain in the breathiness of her voice. She knew he was listening. "I am so sorry and I miss you more than you can possibly imagine." She closed her eyes. "I still love you."

Her eyes remained closed even when she felt Derek move away. Long after the scent of his cologne vanished from the air. She imagined him wrapping his arms around her and telling her everything was going to be okay.

Opening her eyes, and finding this was not the reality, she quickly headed to the elevator. As it moved up to the administrative floor, she decided that she couldn't really handle Richard's prying questions right now, and got off a floor early. She wasn't quite sure where she was, but she spotted a bathroom around the corner. She disappeared into it, and flew into a stall, sitting down. She peeked under all of the stalls, and no other feet stuck out other than her own. She rested her head on her knees, breathing deeply.

She was incredibly frightened. She knew no one, she was lost, and the one person who she had once trusted more than anyone else in the world had let her down. She supposed she had deserved this. But she wasn't one to throw herself a pity party.

A few more cleansing breaths, and she stood up and left the stall. Her hands shook slightly as she turned the faucet. Water began to stream out, and she splashed a little on her face.

The door to the restroom suddenly flew open with a bang, and a larger woman with curly brown hair stormed in angrily. She ignored Addison, but took the sink next to her. Addison studied her through the mirror, wondering if the universe was punishing her. Everyone seemed overly angry today. The woman looked up and caught her staring. She growled, "What?"

Addison jumped back. She was actually scared of this woman. "Sorry." Seattle must make people grumpy and depressed around her. She reached for a paper towl.

"No, seriously. I don't even know you. Am I giving off some kind of 'freak' vibe? Because people keep staring at me like there's something wrong, and right now, I'm pissed and I want to be treated like a human being!" The woman stood with her hands on her hips, and she looked as if she meant business. Her straightforward speech was almost refreshing, as Addison only had been hearing lies since she first stepping foot in Seattle. But she had not ever experienced and certainly not expected any sort of outburst like this.

Her eyes fell to the floor as she tried to think of something to say or do. Addison cautiously ran her eyes up the woman and observed. The woman was dressed in black too, so they almost paralleled each other. Addison looked up and hesitantly made eye contact. "I like your shoes." The shoes were magenta; they didn't match her outfit at all. But Addison loved them. They made her want to kick off her black stilettos, but she knew she couldn't. Addison hadn't been less than perfectly dressed in over a decade.

The woman seemed to feel the truth in her sentiment and the fire disappeared in her eyes. She relaxed. "Oh." She turned to face the mirror and straightened up a little before turning back towards Addison. She held out her hand. "Callie Torres."

Addison shook her hand. "Addison Montgomery-Shep-" she paused, "Montgomery." Maybe she had just made a friend. "Bad day?"

"That would be an understatement." Callie's hands gripped the counter of the sinks.

"Same here," Addison mirrored her position.

Callie laughed. "And then I come here and yell at you, and you did nothing wrong. I'm incredibly sorry."

"Don't worry, you're the most honest person I've met in Seattle so far." Addison wanted Callie to be her friend. She didn't know anyone here, and it would definitely be nice to have someone to go to here in Seattle.

Callie turned around and leaned against the counter. "You're new?"

"I'm not sure if I'm new, or just visiting yet." Addison wrinkled her nose in confusion. She didn't want to think about that right now, or make any important decision.

"I know a great bar. You wanna go grab a drink or something?" Callie looked at her hopefully.

"Sure." Addison pushed off the counter and followed her out into the corridor.

Seeing Richard would just have to wait until tomorrow.

* * *

A/N: Review, please. :) Feel free to skip over this entire A/N. I'm just explaining.

For those who care: This is a series of stories, based on Shakespearean themes in Grey's Anatomy. This first one, from _Twelfth Night_, if you've ever read it, will be extremely interesting. Also, you certainly don't have to know any Shakespeare to understand the series. I just happen to be a theatre fanatic who enjoys common threads.

Like I said before, this story has Mer/Der and Addek. (I thought I would make it as hard as possible to write a realistic story. :) haha)

Also, this is pretty much an ensemble piece. Everyone is in it. Lots of pairings within the entire series. (If you want a list of specific pairings, message me, or drop a review. Chances are, if you have a favorite pairing, it will appear sometime in this series.) To give you an idea, around eight stories with seven chapters. Mostly, the chapters will be narrated by Addison, Meredith, Derek, Alex, and maybe Mark.

Next chapter is Meredith-narrated, by the way. It's their date. Derek tries to explain.


	2. Denied Access

**Elizabethan Love: Mistaken Love and White Lies**

Chapter 2: Denied Access

_Therefore, good youth, address thy gait unto her;_  
_Be not denied access, stand at her doors,_  
_And tell them, there thy fixed foot shall grow_  
_Till thou have audience_

Meredith gripped the steering wheel tightly, so the knots in the material dug into her skin. It made her angry that Derek could order her around like he just did in the lobby. It was so condescending when he openly lied to her. Obviously he and Addison were more than colleagues. He had been more angry than Merecdith ahd ever seen him. Even more than when Alex had tried to hit on her in the locker room at the beginning of the year. She could see him whispering to Addison through the window.

She growled under her breath.

Derek must have thought she was stupid. She was not going on this date until she got some answers. How does Derek know this woman? And more importantly, why was he so angry with her?

Yet, without all of these answers, she still blindly trusted him. And this was justified- he wasn't lying to her- he just wasn't telling her the whole truth.

She would forgive him because they were in love. Meredith was almost thankful for this new situation. Finally, Derek had a fault. It was awfully intimidating to be a lowly flawed intern next to a near-saintly neurosurgeon.

Nevertheless, Meredith was not going to stand for Derek's strange behavior. As he exited the building in long, fast strides, she decided to confront him. He was frowning, and he walked to the driver's side, but Meredith pointed him in the other direction. He reluctantly walked around to the passengers side, stepped in the car, and slammed the door shut.

Meredith knew that he wasn't angry with her. But it was unnerving, the way he scowled and treated her.

He turned toward her, and kissed her cheek. "I'm sorry. She was really inappropriate."

Meredith didn't say anything, but just continued to drive. She stopped just across the street at Joe's.

"What are you doing?" Derek asked. "I thought we were going out somewhere special tonight."

Meredith parked the car, and palmed the steering wheel. "I want some answers. What's really going on?"

His eyes widened in denial. "What? No. It's nothing."

Meredith set her hands in her lap and hung her head, so her hair fell down in her face. Then, she looked back up at him. "Why do you think I'm stupid?"

"No!" He sat up suddenly, and his hands searched the car for something secure to grip. "I _know_ that you're not stupid. I think you're- brilliant. Much more intelligent that me when I was your age. Brilliant-" He looked at her dreamily, "and beautiful."

Meredith sighed and gazed out the window. "Stop. If you think you can win me over with flattery, you're wrong. I never knew you felt this way."

Derek touched her hand, and rubbed the tips of his fingers over the back of her hand. "Please. Don't be angry. I'm sorry. I'm being an idiot. I shouldn't talk to you like that." He took at deep breath. "This will be a long conversation. Why don't we go inside. Okay?"

She smiled at him. "It's okay. I'm not mad at you." He looked so cute, and he seemed very, very sorry. "I just want to know. I love you, and I don't know any of the intimacies of your life. Open up to me."

He patted her hand. "Okay." He looked sad for a moment. "Let's go."

They walked into Joe's and took a seat in a booth. The room was dimly lit, and shadows fell down on their faces. They sat across from each other. Derek rubbed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair. "God, where should I begin?"

"At the beginning." Meredith leaned forward, excited. She was happy that she finally would learn the truth.

"Addison and I are- well, we were-" Derek looked at her and paused. "Friends. We were really good friends for a long time."

"What happened?" Meredith was genuinely curious.

Derek took a long time to speak again. He twisted his fingers between each other, played with the napkins, tried to distract himeslf. "She- uh- she did a bad thing."

Meredith looked over to the bar. They could use some drinks right about now. She turned her attention back to Derek. "Which bad thing did she do?"

"She- um-" Derek looked away. "She cheated on her husband." Derek looked at her to make sure she believed him. "I could never forgive her. It's just so- cruel."

"Oh." Meredith was kind of relieved. "Did you know her husband?"

Derek laughed a little and folded his hands on the table. "Yeah, I knew him pretty well."

"You can't forgive her? Even after you've been friends for so long?" Meredith's voice cracked, and her eyes were so hopeful. She believed in this kind of forgiveness.

"I can't forgive her. I can't imagine the kind of person who would do that to another human being." He shook his head, and Meredith decided that this would be the time to get drinks. Derek looked pretty depressed.

When she got back, Derek's head was in his hands, and his eyes were heavy. She slid a beer towards him, and he accepted it. Meredith took his face in her hands, and looked at him confused. "I know it was probably a big deal back then whenever it happened, but don't you think that this is silly to hold a grudge against it. You should throw away that friendship. Don't you trust her? She must have had a reason for doing it."

Derek just looked at her, and they stayed like that for a couple of minutes, until the door to the bar opened and something caught Derek's eye.

* * *

Addison pulled a stick of lipstick out of her purse, and pulled down the mirror from the passenger's visor in Callie's car. A red glow covered her face from the stoplight in front of them. Two quick swipes and a pucker later, the light was green and Addison returned the makeup back to her purse. She squinted, and asked, "How far away is this place?"

Callie was wearing her rockstar sunglasses, even though it was dark. She was ready to party like a cool kid. Both of them knew that they looked good, and it felt fantastic. "Not too far..." she trailed off as she pulled into Joe's right across the street.

"How convenient." Addison opened the door, feeling infinitely better than she did an hour ago. Something about a good friend, and the promise of a good time.

These good feeling went out the door as soon as she walked into Joe's. She spotted Derek instantly. She always thought it was some sort of instinct, that she could tell whenever he was in a room.

But Derek seemed to lack this sort of instinct, as it took him a few minutes to even see her. You'd think that with her flaming hair, she'd be hard to miss, but Derek's eyes had grown to the habit of passing over her indifferently.

When he saw her, he groaned, and his head fell with a _thud!_ onto the wooden table. Meredith looked over her shoulder at Addison and smiled. She waved her over.

Before Addison could respond, Derek's head popped back up, and he grabbed Meredith's hand to pull her away and out of the bar.

Meredith yanked her arm away. "Stop it Derek!" She sighed and straightened her clothes. "I'm sorry."

Addison shook her head. "It's fine. But I thought you were going out on a date."

"Something came up," Meredith explained, "But now that we're all here, we should all have drinks and talk."

Addison looked at Derek, who was already halfway out the door. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"No..." Meredith tried to pull Derek back inside. "It'll be fine. You guys need to talk."

Addison fingered the fabric of her dress, nervously, and Callie was just standing there, confused.

Meredith wrinkled her nose. "Do I know you?"

Callie nodded at her. "I'm Dr. Callie Torres. We work at the same hospital."

"Oh," Meredith felt bad that she didn't recognize her. "Meredith Grey."

"Let's go, Meredith." Derek interrupted. His feet kept moving, but he was going nowhere. He held the door open for Meredith.

"No!" Meredith hissed.

Derek's eyes faded to a shade darker. He pushed past Meredith and went straight for Addison. "You ruin everything!" He screamed.

Addison shut her eyes, and his loud voice left her ears ringing. Callie swore that she could see some of Addison's hair fly out of her face at the force of Derek's breath. "Shit." Callie moved a little closer to Addison, ready to defend her new friend as she might get attacked.

But Derek froze, and turned on his heel. When he was out of the door, he yelled at her once more. "Stop following me!" And with that, he slammed the door, and headed for the car.

Meredith was scared, and completely unsure of what to do. She had never seen Derek behave that way. For some reason, unknown to her, she followed him out the door.

Addison numbly made her way to a barstool, Callie right behind her. She could barely breathe as she ordered her drink. Callie watched her, amazed. "That is the most interesting thing that's happened to me all day."

"I'm glad something good came out of it." Addison said sarcastically. She sipped her drink.

"Seriously." Callie swallowed. "Thank you for coming into my life."

Addison cracked a smile and laughed. "Thank you."

"Just to warn you...people here aren't very friendly." Callie tilted her head.

Addison just gave her a knowing look.

All of a sudden, an attractive young man slid into the seat by Callie. "Hey, doll-face." He winked.

Callie rolled her eyes.

"Come on, beautiful. You know you love me." This certain young man was being extremely cocky.

"Pay no attention to him." Callie turned to Addison, purposely ignoring him. "He's an ass."

The guy leaned around Callie to check out Addison. "Who's your friend?"

"Don't look at him," Callie warned as Addison's eyes moved between the kid and Callie, "He's trouble."

"I can take care of myself," Addison assured her. "What's your name?"

"Alex." He smiled at her. "Can I buy you a drink?"

"That would be nice." Addison twirled a piece of hair between her fingers flirtariously.

Callie raised her eyebrows. "She's married."

Addison smacked her on the shoulder, and turned back around to the bar in defeat. But Alex got up out of his seat by Callie, and sat down next to Addison. "He doesn't deserve you if he's not here."

Addison decided that leading this poor guy on wouldn't be the best decision. "I'm sorry. But she's right. I'm committed to my husband."

He shrugged. "Your loss."

A few seconds passed and he still didn't leave. She peered at him curiously. "What are you doing?"

"Just because we can't be together doesn't mean I can't look at you or talk to you." Alex leaned in closer to her. "Twenty bucks says I can kick your ass in darts."

Addison was in shock. This was the first time a guy had paid this much attention to her emotions for years. Derek had been completely indifferent, and Mark only care about sex. If they kept it completely platonic, there was no rule that she couldn't talk to other men.

So, they played a few games of darts, and after a while, they played a round of pool girls vs. boys. Some bashful kid named George was on Alex's team. Callie seemed pretty into him.

The foursome found their ways to a seat, and then Callie and George disappeared. Alex and Addison talked about life, and pets, and relationships. Addison told Alex about her husband, and he mentioned his recent dating trouble. George and Callie came back holding hands. Callie pointed to the door, "I think we're going to take off."

Addison gasped. "Don't leave me alone!"

Callie nodded to Alex. "You'll get her home alright?"

Alex wrapped his arm around her shoulders as she tried to squirm away. "Of course."

"Callie!" Addison squealed. "I thought you were my friend. I can't go home, and I definitely can't go home with him."

George was already dragging Callie across the floor, and heading towards his car.

"You can trust him!" Callie shouted from the other side of the room. "Don't worry. He won't pull anything."

Addison had a hard time believing her, as Callie waved from outside of the bar. She glanced at Alex. "Well, what do we do now?"

"Well, we go back to your house and sleep together." Once again, she tried to squirm away, but he was too strong for her. "I'm kidding. But I would like to see you home."

"I don't have a home." She looked down sadly. "I live in a hotel."

"You're visiting?" Alex coked an eyebrow. "That explains a lot. You don't really fit in here."

"I know." Addison bit her lip. "I hate that."

"Let's go." Alex pushed her out of the booth, and grabbed her jacket. They both fell into the taxi, as it took them to her hotel. Alex almost gasped when he saw it. It was the biggest establishment he'd ever seen. "Wow."

"Yeah." Addison stepped out of the car. "This is me."

Surprisingly enough, Alex stepped out of the car too. "Waht are you doing?" she asked increduously. Alex put his hand on the small of her back, and led her inside. Something about him was absolutely mesmerizing. They almost made it to the elevator, but Addison stopped him. "I can't. I'm sorry. I really do love my husband."

"He doesn't love you though."

Addison's back hit the wall. He didn't even know anything. How could he say that? She knew it was true, but it was so insensitive to bring it up. Was he that desperate to get laid? "Yeah, I know that." She paused. "You can stay here if you'd like."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that," he apologized.

"It's okay," she said. Even though it wasn't. She was so worn out that it was worth it just to give up.

"I don't have anywhere to go." He wanted to touch her, but he didn't want to pressure into anything she didn't want to do.

Addison pushed off the wall, and moved close to him. "You can stay here."

However, she headed opposite the elevators.

"Where are you going?" He followed her.

"I'm getting you a room. You didn't think you'd be staying with me, did you?"

* * *

A/N: It would be wonderful if everyone reviewed. :)

I'll try to update as soon as possible. I know where I'm going with this, but I'm not sure how to get there.


	3. False Words

**A/N: This is my redo. IT IS DIFFERENT FROM THE FIRST CHAPTER 3 EXCEPT FOR THE FIRST PART. Thanks. I realize that I altered the canon storyline a little bit. Now stretch reality with me...**

**Elizabethan Love: Mistaken Identity and White Lies**

Chapter 3: False Words

_Fool: W__ords are grown so false, I am loath to prove_  
_reason with them._

Addison's eyes fluttered shut in exhaustion. She hadn't slept very well the night before. Getting home in the wee hours of the night, worrying for a couple more, and then leaving for work didn't leave her with much energy. She had purposely left the hotel insanely early, so she wouldn't have to see Alex. She had only purchased him an overnight stay, so if he wanted to see her there, he would have to pay the ridiculously high rates himself.

After entering the hospital, Addison realized that her first (dreaded) task at hand was to talk to Richard. He was in the middle of convincing her to sign a contract, when he noticed her drifting off. "Addison! Are you listening to a word I'm saying?"

"Yes." Her eyes remained shut. "Look- Richard, I'm only here for one case. I'm not staying."

Richard leaned forward on his desk, and Addison could feel his frustration growing, even with her eyes closed. "I would be willing to pay you almost double what New York is."

Addison sighed and leaned back in her chair. At this point, she just wanted to sleep. "It's not about the money..."

"Open your damn eyes." Richard sounded stern, so Addison willed her eyelids open. He was staring at her, angry. "He's with Ellis Grey's daughter. The intern."

"He's happy, and he hates me." Addison shook her head. "There's nothing I can do, as much as it kills me."

"You're giving up?" Richard was not backing down. "You guys can work this out if you're here. Derek will snap out of this phase he's been going through, and he'll see it's unreasonable to throw away ten years of marriage."

"Eleven." She corrected him as she stood up. "We threw it out a long time ago. There's nothing for me here."

Richard stood up to stop her. "I can give you every professional benefit you deserve. You'll be a star."

Addison headed for the door. "Talk to Derek. If he's okay with me being her, I will consider- consider, Richard- your offer. And I would appreciate it if you kept this under wraps."

Richard nodded. "Of course. And I'll talk to Derek."

Addison said goodbye, and shut the door. She wondered where the on-call rooms were in this place. She needed a few more hours of sleep before she officially gave medical advice. She was searching the long corridor of rooms when she saw him.

Alex.

Shit.

She immediately ran in the opposite direction, but, as luck would have it, he had already spotted her.

"Addison!"

Damn it, damn it, damn it. "Alex."

He jogged to catch her. "What are you doing here?"

She looked at his white coat. He worked here. "Working."

He titled his head as if he didn't believe her. "You work here?"

"I'm here for a consult. Do you work here?"

"I'm a surgical intern. Does your husband work here?"

She really didn't want to lie to him. She didn't want to be Derek when it came to interns. "He's a surgeon. He has a practice in New York." That was true, but all of this lying-by-omission was giving her a migraine.

"Oh," he smiled. "Thank God. I didn't want to face an angry husband."

"No worries." She checked around the hallway, making sure her angry husband was nowhere to be found.

He shifted his weight between his feet, grabbed her hand, and led her to a more private hallway. "You're leaving him, right?"

Addison hesitated. "I'm not sure." Alex looked somewhat innocent; he seemed to be a different person who threw all of those sarcastic, hurtful remarks around. "Why?"

His air of cockiness came back to him as he smirked. "I think we should go out on a date."

Addison took a step back. "No, no, no. That would not be a good idea. Or completely appropriate for that matter."

"Who cares?" She saw him tense up, surprised at her rejection. "If you're worried about the work thing, it doesn't matter here. All of the interns are dating attendings."

"That's why you want to date me? So you can get ahead?"

"No," he interrupted her. Addison slammed the chart in her hands down on a nearby table to silence him, flipping it open. She refused to look at him, "Let me save you some time. You don't need to sleep with me to get interesting surgeries." She shoved the chart in his hands, and walked back to the nurses' station. "I needed an intern anyway."

Alex almost tried to stop her, but he knew it would be a lost cause. Addison had made her mind up about him for the time being, regardless of the truth of the matter. He opened the case file.

She was an OB/GYN?

Alex groaned. This was going to be a long day for him.

* * *

Addison leaned against a wall with her eyes closed. It was about 2 PM in the afternoon, but she felt like it was ten in the evening. The jet lag was really taking a toll on her, and the one person she wanted to talk to (Derek) had managed to consistently avoid her for the entire day. She was convinced he was hiding in a small cabinet of some sort, waiting until after she had left to come out.

On a good note, the TTTS case was progressing nicely without complications, but Addison felt she was walking on eggshells with this one. The twins' hearts could fail at any moment, so she didn't exactly want to leave the hospital any time soon.

But there was no way she could perform surgery in her condition.

Her eyes drooped, and all of her movements and reflexes were significantly slower. Even when she was walking down the hallway, her eyes were close more often than not. She stretched and yawned, willing her muscles to wake up.

But, just as she pushed off of the wall, an arm linked through hers and began to lead her body through the hallway. She opened her eyes.

Alex.

Again.

Dr. Karev, she corrected herself.

It took her about a minute to realize they were moving. She groaned, and tried to push him away immediately, but failed. They were heading for the hospital lobby.

"What are you doing?" She breathed sleepily.

He chuckled and tightened his grip on her elbow. "Taking you home."

"No." She began to drag her feet. "I have to stay here with the TTTS-" The end of her sentence dropped off as she yawned.

He stopped as he didn't want to drag her through the parking lot and scuff up her assuredly expensive shoes. "Come on, you know you can't operate without some sleep. And Mrs. Phillips is in good hands. Which you would know if you would let me put mine to good purposes."

"You are putting your hands to good purposes-" she protested weakly.

He laughed. She wasn't getting it. "Not the way I want to..." He added a rise in his voice and a wink for good measure.

"Oh, God." She hung her head. "Am I so tired that I miss childish innuendoes?"

He gave her arm a little squeeze. "Babe, there's nothing childish about my innudendoes."

She leaned on him, a little dizzy. "If you ever call me 'babe' again, I will throw up on you."

"Oh..." He smiled. "Well, we wouldn't want that to happen, would we?"

She was still half-leaning on him as they walked very slowly. She hoped Derek wouldn't spontaneously crawl out of the hole he was in and observe her pressed against another man. Because she really did want to work it out with him.

It was just hard, because Alex was very warm, and she wanted very much to cuddle up in his chest and fall asleep.

No. That couldn't happen. She was married.

She stopped him from pulling her along again. "The hotel is over twenty minutes away. I can't leave."

He turned to her and smirked. "We're not going back to the hotel."

"Oh-no..." She backed away and hit one of the automatic doors. He helped her regain her balance as she muttered something about not sleeping with him.

"Hey!" He finally got her to move along with him. 'We are not sleeping together. I live ten minutes away from here, and no one will be there. You can have an hour or two to yourself in the quiet guest room."

Addison understood. They were out in the parking lot now, and even the fresh air couldn't wake her up from the haze she was living in. She was walking heavily with her eyes closed, trusting that he wouldn't walk her into a car or anything. He finally did show her into his car, helping her step in, and eventually buckling her up as she was already half-asleep with her cheek resting on the warm material of the seat.

Alex laughed to himself, and got into the driver's seat.

When they arrived at their destination, he shoved her awake. She was pretty cranky, and pouted all the way into the house. Despite the slight paranoia of being in a strange place, Addison was actually pretty comfortable. The house was somewhat cluttery, and it looked as if it hadn't be cleaned for a while, yet it seemed there was a place for everything. He led her up the stairs to the second bedroom of the hallway. There were a few pieces of clothing on the floor, and the bed was unmade.

"This is the guest room?" She asked wearily.

He deposited her on the bed, and answered, "Yes."

She looked around. There was nothing personal anywhere. Just clothes, no television or stereo system. She almost believed him. "Is this your room?"

"Does it matter?" He smiled, and looked at her lying down on the bed. "But, no. This isn't my room. This is the guest room. And you, the guest, need to sleep." He felt a strong impulse to lean down and kiss her forehead, but he settled for patting her on the head. "Page me when you're ready."

She waved him off and curled up on her side.

She was asleep before he left the room.

* * *

George O'Malley opened the door to Callie's house, and entered. This was the first time he'd been home in about a week. He practically lived at Callie's secret hideaway in the hospital, but he needed to come home to change clothes and shower every once in a while.

He had snuck out of work early so he didn't have to see Meredith or Izzie. They would just pester him with questions about where he was, and he really didn't want to answer them.

He trodded upstairs, and to his bedroom. The blinds had been closed, and he couldn't see much past his bed, and sheets. The bed was just how he left it, and it looked so comfortable that he sat down on it.

He was so tired, and his shift had been a long one. Callie's air mattress didn't exactly match the comfort of sleeping in his own bed.

After sitting and thinking for a moment about the consequences of sleeping at home during his shift, George kicked off his shoes, and stripped down to his boxers and a white t-shirt.

He fell asleep thinking about buying Callie an actual bed.

* * *

Izzie arrived home much later than George had, but she was much more excited. She saw George's car on the street, and she knew he was home. She couldn't wait to talk to him, find out why he was home all of a sudden.

Maybe he had fought with his secret girlfriend.

Izzie knew it was terrible to wish these things, but she wouldn't have to, had George opened up a little more. She dropped her bag on the kitchen counter, and fixed a plate of muffins. George loved to eat her muffins when he was sad.

She brought them up the stairs, and opened the door to his room. She laughed. She could see his arm hanging over the side of the bed, but that was about it.

Deciding to spare him the harshness of the overhead light, she moved to where the blinds were, and pulled the string a little bit.

She gasped.

The plate of muffins dropped from her hand, and she grabbed it just before she lost all control.

There was a woman in George's bed.

Izzie tried to control her breathing, so she wouldn't be heard. Both seemed to be sound asleep.

She moved quickly back into the hallway. The blinds gave off just enough light that she got a good look at the woman's face.

How could George not tell her he was dating someone?

She set the plate of muffins down on a table in the hallway, and peeked back in.

Was he sleeping with her?

No, that as a bad choice of words. He _was _sleeping with her, but was he having sex with her?

There was only one way to tell. Izzie inched the blanket up, afraid of what she might see. But it didn't take long before she saw the edge of George's boxers, and she sighed in relief.

She tiptoed over to the woman. She did _not _look like someone George would date. She was older, but, as far as Izzie could see, she was pretty. The woman gave off an air of peacefulness and strength as she slept. No, this was not the kind of woman that George dated.

Izzie noticed for the first time what the woman was wearing. A white coat. She was a doctor, yet Izzie had never seen her before. How could she have missed this? She wished she could see the name on the coat, but the woman was turned just enough on her side that the name was hidden on her body.

Izzie tapped her foot impatiently. What should she do? She wanted to wake them up, and find out all about this, but she decided to consult Meredith first.

She left the room for a second to grab a phone, and dial Meredith's number.

She peeked back in the room, watching them sleep.

"Meredith?"

* * *

Meredith and Derek held hands as they crossed the street. They smiled at each other. Instead of going out to eat at a restaurant (which had yielded quite a disaster before), they decided to go for a walk. Tour the part of Seattle near the hospital, so if it was necessary, they could be reached at any time.

Meredith skipped ahead to check out a window display, and turned back around. "Let's go for a ferryboat ride!"

Derek nodded. "Sure." This is exactly how he wanted it to be. Just him and Meredith. No complications.

She latched back onto his arm. "It's really too bad Addison couldn't come."

"Yeah." Just what Derek did not want to think about.

Meredith tilted her head. "Sorry. I know you don't want to talk about it."

Derek squinted up at the sky, awkwardly. "It's okay."

Meredith studied him. This whole sitation was troubling him. He only got those little lines in his forehead when he was incredibly stressed. She pulled him over to a nearby bench. "Let's sit down."

Derek groaned inside his head. He knew exactly what she wanted. It didn't matter. He would just let her say whatever she wanted, and then agree.

Meredith patted him on the knee. "You know how much I love you, right?"

"Of course." Derek looked at her, confused.

She took a deep breath. "I need to you forgive her."

"What?" He couldn't agree to that.

"I need you to forgive Addison," she repeated.

Derek had wanted these two relationships to be completely seperate from each other. Why did his relationship with Addison affect his with Meredith? "Why?!"

Meredith was getting a little angry herself. He was being unreasonable. "She's the only one that cares!" Her fingers pulled on the fabric of her jeans in nervousness at what she was about to say. "It's been two months, and _Addison_ is the only person from your old life that has cared to visit you." He had a mother, and multiple sisters! What about his friends? She just didn't understand.

"Wow." Derek sat back in disbelief. "I had no idea-" He looked at her with clouded eyes. "I guess I didn't realize this relationship was a popularity contest."

Meredith shyed away from him. "I didn't mean it like that..." She pushed the hair away from her face. "It's just- I know she cheated on your best friend, but that's so insignificant. Doesn't your friendship mean anything to you? She made a mistake."

Derek sighed. If she only knew the position she was putting him in. "You don't understand-"

"I do," Meredith insisted. She stared at the ground. "Derek, I'm going to mess up ."

"Not-" Derek interrupted.

"Please." Meredith flattened her hands against her legs. "Let me talk. I _am _going to mess up because I'm not perfect and that's what I do. I need to know you're not going to hold this irrational grudge for something that might have been justified in the first place."

"She wasn't justified." He snapped.

"Did you talk to her?"

"I don't need to."

Meredith stood up, excitedly. "That's exactly what I'm talking about! You are so angry after a- what?- fifteen year old friendship, and I'm expected to believe you can maintain a two month fli-" She stopped herself before she could say the word, and he glared at her. "relationship."

He wished he could just tell her the truth. "I'm sorry." It became clear that there was only one way to satisfy Meredith and move on: He would have to play nice with Addison. At that moment, he committed himself to this cause, but he wouldn't have any more than the required contact with her. He would bury all the anger and heartbreak deep within him, and pretend. He didn't want to, but he would, for Meredith. "I'll talk to her, okay? If it makes you feel better."

"It would." Meredith nodded and sat down.

He put his arm around her shoulder and she leaned in. "But you should know, my relationship with you, and my relationship with Addison are not the same. I love you, and you couldn't do anything to make me feel any different."

Meredith nodded into his shirt, breathing in his scent.

Her cell phone rang, and she checked the caller-id.

It was Izzie.

She answered it, curious. "Izzie?"

_"Meredith?"_

Derek removed his arm from around her, and tried to listen to her conversation. Meredith shooed him away. "Is something wrong?"

_"There's a woman in George's bed."_

"What?" Izzie was whispering.

_"There's a doctor in George's bed. She's fully clothed, but he isn't."_

Meredith gasped. "Do you think it's that girl he's been hanging around?"

_"I don't know. She doesn't look like George's type."_

Derek mouthed "What?", but Meredith shook her head. "What does she look like?"

Izzie squealed all of a sudden.

Meredith panicked. "What? What, Izzie? What happened?"

_"Oh my God, Meredith. He just rolled over and put his arm around her waist."_

"Are they awake?" Meredith stood up from the bench.

_"No!"_

"Izzie, this is very important." Meredith spoke slowly and calmly. "What. Does. She. Look. Like."

_"Umm..." Izzie's voice increased in pitch with every second that went by. "She has red hair. And she's tall, but that's all I can tell."_

Meredith's eyes darted around as the realization came to her. "Don't move Izzie. I'll be right there." Meredith snapped the phone shut, and looked at Derek. "I think Addison may have found a reason to stay in Seattle." She smiled.

Derek's face fell, along with his stomach. "What?!"

Meredith offered him her hand, and pulled him up off the bench. "Izzie just said there was a woman sleeping in George's bed with him. And she described that someone and she's exactly like Addison."

Derek shook his head. This didn't make sense. "Addison wouldn't sleep with George." He couldn't believe it. This was not something Addison would do, ever. "Izzie must have made a mistake."

"Why is this so hard for you to believe? Opposites attract. Maybe they're soulmates." Meredith clapped her hands together excitedly. It was always a good day when two people fell in love. Or hooked up.

But Derek was convinced. "No. It's not."

They were approaching Derek's car. Meredith shrugged. "Fine. Come home with me and I'll prove it to you."

"Okay...But you're going to be wrong." Derek teased. It couldn't possibly be Addison. Addison had just proclaimed her love for him. She wouldn't fall into bed with someone else, much less George O'Malley. Derek laughed to himself. The idea was just- absurd.

She wouldn't cheat on him again.

Would she?

* * *

A/N: So, thank you so much if you are still reading this. I feel bad about deleting the original chapter. I had posted it really late at night, and then I woke up thinking, "That chapter sucked."

And for those of you who have questions about pairings, I don't know if it's going to be Mer/Der or Addek yet. I told myself originally that it wasn't going to be Addex, because I've only written Addex stories so far. But I think I might reconsider.

So I deleted it, and I like this one much better. I was going to post this entire story arc in one chapter, but I decided against it. Next chapter should be up pretty soon. I just have tomorrow's classes, and a chem lab, and I can write all weekend! :)


	4. Improbable Fiction

**Elizabethan Love: Mistaken Identities and White Lies**

_Fabian: If this were played upon a stage now, I could  
condemn it as an improbable fiction._

_Fool: Nothing that is so is so._

Cristina leaned back against the cot with her feet in the stirrups. She hate this place. OB/GYN was her least favorite specialty anyway, and this wasn't even a hospital where there might be an interesting case once or twice a year.

No, this was just a stupid clinic.

And she hated everything about it.

She hated the flimsy gown she was wearing, and the freezing temperature of the room. She hated everything right down to the faded white walls, and the teddy bears lurking everywhere.

But mostly, she hated the cold hands that touched her between her legs.

She had decided beforehand that this was not going to be an emotional experience for her. She was not going to grieve the death of her child, if you could call it that. She could not afford to lose control like that.

It was just a bunch of cells anyway; she could practically kill that many cells by scratching an itch.

Cristina didn't want to hurt anyone. She had devoted her entire being to preserving and protecting life. And now, she was perserving her own life. It's not like she was striving to be a Catholic saint or anything. She just wished it was over already. She had better things to do with the life that she was saving.

She almost regretted not telling Meredith about the abortion, but that would have opened a whole other can of worms about the father. It wasn't like she could talk to Burke about it either though. She wasn't sure if they were even together anymore. Actually, she wasn't sure if they had been together at all.

Cristina was not fond of the beginning stages of a relationship. They were messy, and they made her unsure of herself. Especially with Burke. But Cristina Yang, unsure of herself? All of her classmates from Stanford would have laughed at the absurdity.

She stared at the wall behind the doctor without closing her eyes. She didn't even listen to her iPod. She took in every sight and sound, every sense that just might wrench her heart at the reality of what she was doing.

She was just that hardcore.

Every breath she took made her stronger. But the procedure felt like it was taking light years to complete. Finally, it was over, and Cristina dashed out of there, medication in hand. She stopped on the sidewalk outside. Where was she supposed to go? Where could she possibly share her relief?

As she approached her car, she rested her hand on her abdomen. She knew it was gone and dead.

When she first found out she was pregnant, it had felt like an infection in her body that only kept growing. Her body demanded that she rid herself of it, with all the morning sickness, and pain. It was like a virus, zapping her energy and ability to concentrate. She really had no choice in the matter. The baby simply couldn't have been born.

But she had to ask herself why she felt worse than she had ever before. Instead of ridding her body of the virus, the abortion made it multiply and spread. The pain curled around her spine, through her arms, and resonated in her thighs and throat.

And the ache dragged her down.

* * *

Addison stirred in bed. Before she opened her eyes, she felt an arm draped around her. She sighed.

Mark.

It was so nice to feel wanted, right when she woke up in the morning. She pulled the arm tighter around her, and opened her eyes.

She frowned. It was dark. And this wasn't Mark's apartment. Then she remembered. Alex. She growled. He had promised her this wasn't his room. Dirty, pig-headed liar.

But, really, who was she to talk?

Nevertheless, she forcefully shoved his arm off of her.

"Iz..." he groaned.

Addison froze. That was not Alex's voice. She turned around to face him, and about fell out of the bed.

There was a strange man in bed next to her. And as far as she could tell, he was naked.

Addison shrieked. What had happened to her? She grabbed herself, and praised the high heavens that she was still wearing clothes. But who the hell was this guy in bed next to her?

What if he had done stuff to her why she was asleep? What if Alex had...sold her or something? She really didn't think he would do that. She was just crazy.

Maybe she was still dreaming. No, she could tell when she was dreaming.

She was not dreaming, but he was. Still, she couldn't very well slip out of there without being noticed. Not to mention that she had no idea where she was.

All of a sudden, she heard voices downstairs. "We're home!!" It sounded like Derek, but it couldn't be. This was Alex's house. It must have been Alex. She heard a woman whispering "Shhhh", and then laughter.

Alex brought another woman home? This wasn't going to be anything short of embarrassing. But maybe he could give her some answers about the bed she was currently sleeping in.

She waited, as the voices came closer. She could tell there were two women, and it sounded an awfully lot like Derek, but she convinced herself that wasn't possible. It wasn't until they were right outside her doorway and she could recognize Meredith's voice that she finally realized the terrible truth.

Derek saw her sitting halfway up next to George, and his jaw dropped open.

Addison saw him, and immediate hopped out of bed. "Derek! It's not what you think-"

But it was too late, Derek was already down the hall, slamming the door to the bathroom.

George snorted a little, but he remained passed out against his pillow.

Addison ignored Meredith and Izzie, and began to pound on the door of the bathroom. "Derek! Open up! I swear, I didn't know-"

He opened the door for a second to snarl at her. "You goddamn slut. Get out." The door slammed again in her face.

Addison placed a hand over her mouth to stop the sobs from escaping. "I didn't do anything!"

Meredith knocked politely on the door, while Izzie stood quietly in the corner. "Derek, it would be really nice if you came out, and we could talk about this."

"I can't believe you!" He shouted from inside the bathroom.

Addison turned to Meredith and Izzie. "I didn't do anything- I don't even know who that man is!" She pointed back to the bedroom.

"George?" Meredith raised an eyebrow.

"I've never seen him before in my life." Addison fisted her hands in her tousled hair. "I just woke up and I was here, in bed with him."

Izzie squinted. "Wait, who are you?"

Addison looked at her as if that was the most idiotic question she'd ever heard. "I'm Addison." Of course. She turned back to Meredith, who was staring at her rather strangely. Finally, she realized what they were thinking. "No! I swear- I wasn't drunk or high or anything. I don't even- it doesn't matter. I was just tired, and Alex brought me here."

Meredith and Izzie were getting more confused by the second. "Alex?"

Derek opened the door. "Dr. Karev?"

Addison threw her arms around Derek's neck, whispering to him her frantic concerns. "I don't know where I am," she whimpered. "Alex brought me here and then I fell asleep, and I woke up and there was this guy next to me. And I don't know who he is! Apparently his name is George." She looked to Meredith for confirmation. "But I've never seen him before until now. And I didn't sleep with him! I didn't! Unless he did things to me while I was asleep. But I don't think Alex would have drugged me-"

"Why would Alex drug you, and then leave you to George?" Meredith repeated, annoyed and perplexed. It wasn't until after she asked the question that she realized the absurdity of it all.

Addison shrugged. "For money?" She laughed weakly, her face still buried in Derek's neck. "That's totally crazy, right? He wouldn't do that. I just met him last night."

Izzie insisted, "George would never do that."

"And Alex isn't a pimp," Meredith added.

Izzie and Derek gave her a knowing look. She held up her hands defensively. "Oh, come on. You guys know he's all talk."

Derek didn't say anything, just rested his hands on Addison's back, without any pressure. He looked forward, past Addison's hair, and past Meredith.

Suddenly, George, very much still waking up, trodded into the room. He rubbed his eyes. He couldn't see Addison, as her back was towards him, but Meredith, Derek, and Izzie were being as still as ever. He did a double take of his room.

Derek slowly grabbed Addison's shoulders, and pushed her out of his path. Out of nowhere, he lunged at George, taking hold of his collar, and pinning him against the wall. "I'm going to kill you!"

George laughed, thinking it was a joke.

Meredith and Izzie immediatedly rushed to his side. Meredith tugged on Derek's t-shirt, yelling at him, "Derek Shepherd!! Put him down!" Izzie grabbed hold of Derek's wrists, trying to free George. "He didn't do anything! Look at him! He has no idea what's going on!"

Derek was about to smack George in the face when Addison put her hand on his shoulder and peered over him to get a good look at George. "Wait! Wait a minute. I think I know him."

Derek loosened his grip on George. "What?!"

"You look familiar." Addison wrinkled her nose, and then her eyes widened. "Oh! George!! You're Callie's boyf- um- friend."

Izzie suddenly was more interested in Addison than George. "Callie who?" She paused. "Callie Torres?! The ortho-doc?" She grabbed Addison's shoulders in excitement.

Addison grinned. "Yes! That's her name!"

Derek let go of George, but then demanded, "You didn't do anything to her?"

George looked between the girls. "Who? Callie?"

"Addison." Derek growled. All of them waited in anticipation.

George raised his eyebrows. "Who's Addison?"

Everyone was silent.

George nodded his head, waiting for them to speak.

Meredith looked at him like he was crazy. "Her!" She pointed to Addison. "The woman you slept with!"

George laughed again. "What? I didn't sleep with her." He laughed again. "Look at her! She's like- pretty. You guys know pretty girls are out of my league."

Addison crossed her arms, feeling rather uncomfortable. Meredith shook her head. "We saw you! She was in your bed, sleeping."

George frowned, realizing they weren't kidding. "No. I came home around five, and took a nap." He looked at Izzie. "And then Izzie must have came in and laid next to me because I remember her..." He stopped. "Oh." He looked at Addison. "That was you, wasn't it?"

Addison nodded. "But I got here in the afternoon. Alex brought me here."

"Geez, George." Meredith teased. "Don't you look at your own bed before you climb into it?"

George blushed, and then trembled. Derek was still glaring at him.

"Hello?!" A voice came from downstairs. Alex jogged up the stairs. "Whoa. Are we having a party?"

"And the guy who started it all!" Izzie introduced him.

Alex gave her a dirty look, and then smiled when he saw Addison. "Hey!! You guys met Addison!" He walked over to her, and slid his hand down her back and over her ass possesively. Derek clenched his hands into fists, while Addison swatted at Alex. "Yes, it was a rather awkward introduction."

He struggled at getting a good hold on her, as she kept evading his grip. "What? Did you sleep well?"

Alex gave up when he noticed everyone watching them, and settled for standing closer than what would usually be acceptable.

She bit her lip. "Don't ask."

"Okay!" He laughed and patted her on the back, his hand lingering. He eyed Derek. "What's wrong with Shepherd?"

Meredith grabbed his hand, and rubbed his back to relax him. "Oh...he's just a little frustrated."

Derek and Addison shared a look, which was noticed by the whole party. Alex pointed between them. "Wait, do you two know each other?"

They hesitated. Meredith spoke for them. "They're friends, from New York."

"Oh." Alex frowned, and shifted uncomfortably. "That's...nice?"

"Derek's friends with...um..." Meredith spoke softly, "...her husband."

Alex's hand dropped from grazing the back of Addison's neck. Addison tried to catch Derek's eye, who was staring at the floor now. Izzie glanced between the two. George gave up on trying to understand what was going on, and he finally realized his lack of garments.

"I'm half-naked," he announced out loud, breaking the silence. He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I'm going to take a shower." He motioned to the bathroom. He walked in and closed the door. After a moment, he opened it again, and peeked only his head out. "Um. Can someone bring me some clothes?"

Izzie had already left to get them for him. She shook her head, laughing as she handed him a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

Alex was struggling with the impulse to hold Addison's hand, but he fought against it. It was hardly appropriate, with Derek in the room.

Izzie clapped her hands together in fake-cheerfulness. "Well, I was going to make some dinner, if everyone wants to stay."

Meredith rolled her eyes. "We all live here, Izzie," she blurted out.

Addison pursed her lips together. "Except for me." She began to leave for the stairs. "It's no problem, I can leave."

"No!" Nearly everyone except for Izzie shouted at the same time.

"Stay," Derek said, completely surprising both Addison and Meredith.

"Yeah." Alex walked toward her. "We can break out the grill, and I'll cook."

"You cook?" Addison laughed.

"Of course!" He grinned smugly, as he traveled down the stairs. "Come here and I'll show you."

She hesitated. "Actually, I have to just the ladies' room first."

"You can use mine," Meredith offered. "It's in my room."

Addison looked at her quizzically.

"Oh, right." Meredith forgot Addison had no idea where she was. "It's the first one by the stairs. Right there." She gestured in the general direction.

As soon as Addison was gone, Alex rushed back up the stairs and grabbed Izzie. "You have to teach me to cook! Right now! We have five minutes!"

Izzie laughed and followed him down the stairs. "How about I whip everything up, and you can stir and pretend you know what you're doing?" They left hurriedly for the kitchen.

Meredith turned to Derek and smiled. "So..."

He ran a hand through his hair. "I know. I guess I could apologize or something."

She rested her hands on his chest. "Good for you."

He ducked his head down and kissed her quickly on the lips. "It would be great if Addison and I could have some privacy for a second, so I can do this properly. Can you make sure Dr. Karev doesn't come looking for her? This shouldn't take long, but I don't want to be interrupted."

Meredith grinned. "I'd love to. They make a cute couple, don't they? Do you know if she's planning on divorcing that husband of hers any time soon?"

Derek only laughed through his teeth. "I guess I'll just wait here for her. We'll be down in a minute."

She waved to him. "Okay. Don't take too long."

Derek relaxed his grin as soon as she was gone. It was hard keeping this act up. He went into Meredith's bedroom, and opened the door to the bathroom. Addison was sitting on the toilet with the toilet cover down. "Hey! What are you doing?"

"I knew you weren't actually using the toilet. Maybe you should learn to lock the door." He turned around and demonstrated for her.

Addison winked sarcastically in understanding. "What do you want?" She leaned forward, propping her elbows on her knees, and resting her head in her hands.

He sauntered his way over to sit on the side of the bathtub. "I was just thinking, well, that it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if you stayed."

She laughed dryly. "You're kidding, right?"

"Meredith likes you."

"I know." Addison said rather smugly. "I'm a likeable person."

"Don't get too cocky," he warned kiddingly. "She only likes you because she can tell that you know a lot about me. I didn't tell her too much about my life before I came here."

Addison leaned back. "That's one of those things that seems really smart at the time, but you realize is actually stupid afterwards." Like her decision to sleep with Mark.

Derek realized what she was thinking, and felt a surge of revenge. "She wants to know about me because she loves me."

"Yeah." Addison clasped her hands together. "I know that too."

She was hurt, which he really hadn't intented to do, so he changed the subject. "I'm sure Richard's made you an offer."

"You do realize that if I stay, you will have to tell Meredith about us." She raised her eyebrows.

"Not necessarily..." Derek trailed off, as he really didn't have anything planned to say after that. He preferred to not think about things like this.

Addison brushed off her skirt, and looked away. "You don't really expect us to have a quiet divorce, do you?"

Derek stared at the corner, and refused to answer.

"Derek! You have to face it sometime." He still wouldn't look at her, but he got up and leaned against the doorframe.

She stood up and pressed her hands against his hips, and up his sides. He still felt the same to her, but he acted so differently.

Derek just watched her. She wasn't doing anything sexual, just remembering his abdomen, and recalling his chest with her hands. Then, out of nowhere, she pressed her lips against his. She lingered there for a good half-minute, as he didn't stop her, but she soon pulled away harshly. He tasted like another woman. Meredith, of course. She wanted to spit it out, but she couldn't. She settled for rubbing her lips with her index finer, trying to soothe the burn and rid herself of the taste.

He cleared his throat. He was just going to pass through the kiss like it never happened. "Let's just go downstairs, and try to be civil for once."

* * *

Meredith stood at the counter, chopping up vegetables. She liked this part of cooking because she could actually do it well, and the clean cut sounds against the wood chopping board relieved her tension.

Izzie seemed to be doing three things at once, and Alex was stirring some sort of gravy with an apron on. He actually looked pretty cute, Meredith thought. It was too bad that Addison seemed preoccupied with something else tonight. Alex's gaze was fixed on the staircase. She saw his thought process through his eyes.

"Don't even think about it," she warned. "She's talking to Derek, and he specifically asked not to be interrupted."

Alex did not break his concentration.

"She'll be down in a second."

Alex's jaw clenched. "I do not like Shepherd. He's being shady."

Meredith laughed. "Yeah, okay."

"I know he's hiding something. I just know it." Alex's eyes narrowed, and he blinked

"Whatever." Meredith rolled her eyes, and turned to Izzie, who had stopped all of a sudden.

A bowl of vegetables in one hand, and a mixer in the other, Izzie had froze. "Someone's phone is vibrating! I can hear it!"

"Oh!" Meredith dropped her knife onto the board. "That's me." She took her phone from Izzie, who resumed doing whatever it was that she was doing.

"Hey!"

_"Hey."_

It was Cristina. "Wanna come over? We're having a cook-out with Derek, and Addison, Derek's friend, and Alex's..." She waved her hands around in confusion. "Flingie-thing."

_"Oh. I can't."_

"Are you okay?" Izzie pointed to her watch, indicating that Meredith needed to stop chatting if they were going to finish on time for dinner.

_"Yeah. Of course. Why?"_

"I don't know. Are you sure you don't want to come over?" Izzie looked really impatient.

_"Yeah. I was just going to ask you if you wanted to hang out."_

"You should come over!"

_"I need to tell you something important, Meredith."_

Addison and Derek chose at that moment to reappear, followed by George. Izzie was getting ready to grab the phone from Meredith. It was all very distracting.

"Can we do this later? I've got to go." Derek and Alex were giving each other looks. Meredith really didn't want to miss anything.

_"Oh."_

Alex was throwing his possesive eyes all over Addison, and Derek didn't seem to happy about that. So much was happening at once, and she needed to pay attention.

"Bye!"

Meredith hung up the phone.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for the AMAZING reviews. You guys rock.

Next chapter is so much fun. I'm excited. I wanted to have Burke in it, but it doesn't look like that's going to work out. And I promise we'll have one last cute-sy Mer/Der scene before everything blows up. (Come on, you know we can't live in denial-land forever.)

We only have a few more chapters before the next section. I haven't really decided what the pairings are going to be yet. :-/


	5. Friends and Foes

**Elizabethan Love: Mistaken Identities and White Lies**

_Fool: My friends praise me and make an ass of me;  
now my foes tell me plainly I am an ass: so that by  
my foes, sir I profit in the knowledge of myself,  
and by my friends, I am abused: so that,  
conclusions to be as kisses._

As it turned out, Callie had been invited (by George, everyone assumed). She was a little surprised that everyone recognized her when she got there, as she felt slightly invisible at the hospital. She got along with them pretty well, except for Izzie Stevens who for some reason kept shooting her bitter glares.

The dinner was quite pleasant, the food excellent, of course. Luckily for Addison, no one really spoke to her, so she didn't have to lie again. Alex wouldn't take his eyes off of her, but he didn't say anything. It was strange, though, seeing Derek in this light. He was genuinely happy and he talked alot and smiled. He had made time out of his busy schedule to come home to Meredith. She concluded that he must have re-prioritized since he moved to Seattle.

It would be lying to say that she wasn't jealous, but she was curious too. Seeing his naked best friend on top of his wife must have thrown him through a loop, and he was anything but unglued. Derek was quite attractive when he was happy. She caught herself staring at him when no one was looking.

After dinner, everyone "cleaned up" (pretended to look busy), and then gathered back around the table with their coffee. Izzie broke out a deck of cards, and began to deal. Addison settled into her place, in the chair besides Alex, which seemed, oddly enough, the most appropriate. Alex's knuckles grazed her knee as Izzie began, "The game is Texas Hold 'Em".

Izzie dealt everyone two cards.

Addison peeked at her cards, and opened her wallet, and began the betting. "Twenty."

Everyone stared at her. Izzie laughed. "Do you think we have twenty dollars to spare?"

Addison shyly put the money away. "Sorry. How about ten?"

They shook their heads.

"Five? One?"

Alex spoke up. "I'm in for one dollar."

Everyone else put in a dollar. Izzie dealt the flop.

Addison almost smiled at her cards. Three of a kind, already. But she kept a straight face. She raised the pot to three dollars. Alex was in, as well as Callie, Meredith, and Derek. George and Izzie folded. Izzie dealt the turn.

"What's the limit?" She asked.

"You need one?" Callie raised her eyebrow.

Meredith checked her wallet. "Four dollars."

Alex stared at her. "You could try to pretend you're poor like the rest of us."

"She could try, but she would not succeed." Derek looked at her over his cards. "Addison will always be a rich snob. It's just in her character."

Addison frowned. "That's not playing nice, Derek." She fingered her cards and licked her lips. Her eyes scanned the table. "You know, my husband wasn't any good at playing poker. He could never call my bluff."

"Evil bitch," Derek spit out. They both laughed.

George leaned towards Callie. "Am I missing something?" He whispered. "I thought she was single."

Addison heard him, despite his low voice. "O'Malley, contrary to popular belief, I am very much married. Have been for eleven years."

"Not for long," Alex muttered.

Derek shook his head. "She's just trying to psych me out. It's not working."

"I'll raise you four dollars," Addison decided.

Alex checked her, and Meredith folded. Derek turned toward her. "If you need money, just ask."

"Fine." She placed her cards face down on the table. "Can I have some money?"

"Of course." He smiled, and handed her four dollars. "That said, I fold."

Addison glared at him, "Asshole."

"Ladies!" Callie looked at Derek and Addison. "Try to keep the potty mouth to a minimum. We have innocent intern ears that don't need that kind of sailor talk."

All of the interns scowled at her stereotype. Callie shifted in her chair. "What? I'm just kidding."

"Sorry," Addison apologized. "We're just used to it."

Izzie dealt the river. Addison glanced at the two interns she was playing against. Alex was scowering the dark places of his wallet for a few extra dollars, and Meredith was stealing a small fortune from Derek.

She had a full house, and she folded. She didn't need it.

Meredith and Alex duked it out, and Meredith won with her nine-high straight. She nodded. "Good game." Derek was eyeing her strangely. "Why did you fold?"

"I had a bad hand..." Addison was sure to shuffle her hand in with all of the other cards so he couldn't see what she had done.

He was persistent. "That's not possible. I _know_ you had a good hand."

"Well, it looks like you were wrong, Derek Shepherd." She rolled her eyes in his direction. "Again."

He pouted in his chair, until Meredith kissed him and put her arm around his shoulders. "So, Addison. This husband of yours, anyone we might know? He's a doctor, right?"

"Yes..." Addison watched as Izzie dealt the cards again. It seemed she was going slower than ever. She wanted to drop the topic. She glanced at Derek and he looked nervous.

"Who is it?" Callie seemed curious. She whispered to George, and they pushed their chairs together, so they were closer than ever.

Addison shook her head. "You don't know him..."

"Come on," Izzie nudged her. "Tell us."

Addison looked to Derek for help. He looked at the table. "Hey, guys. It's really none of our business."

"You're just saying that because you already know." Meredith teased. Derek dropped the arm that had been around her waist.

Addison tried to peek under her cards again, to get things moving along, but Izzie covered them with her hand. "You're not getting away that easily."

Alex looked pretty pissed off, but he leaned toward her so their shoulders touched. "I'm not sure if I want to know, but it would be nice to have an idea what I'm going up against."

Addison sighed painfully, and looked at Derek. He nodded at her. "Go ahead. Tell them."

Addison wrinkled her forehead in confusion. "Uhh..." She checked back at Derek, who was holding Meredith's hand on the table. "His name is...Mark. Mark Sloan."

Alex grabbed her knee. "Mark Sloan? The plastic surgeon?"

Derek's head fell onto the table. He groaned. Meredith ignored him. "Who?"

"Yeah," Addison looked down. Her face was red, but she wasn't really blushing. "That's him."

Alex jumped up out of his seat. "The most sought-after plastic surgeon on the east coast?! You're married to him?" He couldn't compete with _the_ Mark Sloan.

"Can we not talk about it?" Addison grimaced. "That would be great."

Alex raced off. "You guys gotta see him!" He came back with a laptop and placed in on the table.

Derek was banging his head on the table. "I want to die. I want to die," he repeated.

Addison wanted to stretch over and put her hand on Derek's shoulder, but she didn't. "Can we just get back to the game?"

"No." Everyone answered.

Alex had found the website. "Here! Here he is!" Sure enough, Mark Sloan in all his McSteamy glory, had a webpage advertising his services, and there was a big picture of him smiling.

"Oh my God, Addison!" Callie gasped. "He's- he's gorgeous."

Izzie squealed. "I think I just had a tiny orgasm!"

George took a peek at him. "Would it be gay to say he's the most attractive man I've ever seen?"

Meredith had to lean over to get a good look. "Wow! Someone should pat God on the back." She paused. "Wasn't he on the calendar for the most beautiful doctors in the United States?"

Derek continued to pound his head. "I'm going to die. I'm physically going to die. I think I'm having a stroke right now."

Addison stood up and went behind Derek, and patted him on the shoulder. "Derek was runner-up."

He looked up, and he almost seemed to have tears in his eyes, but Addison couldn't tell. "You can't make it better."

Addison sighed. "Okay." She stood up and sat back in her seat. "Can we just play?"

Everyone else seemed to be satisfied with this amount of information. The round continued until it was Callie, Derek, and Addison in a showdown. Addison looked at her cards. She didn't have anything better than two-pair.

But she could bluff.

She took a breath. "Is it okay if we raise the stakes a little?"

Derek nodded, and to everyone's surprise, Callie agreed.

George leaned in and whispered, "You know these people are millionaires, maybe billionaires. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Callie smiled. "Oh, yeah."

Addison took her checkbook out of her purse. "I raise you one hundred and fifty dollars."

Everyone gasped and waited in silence. Callie acted defeated, as she played with her cards. "I see your one fifty, and...Raise you three hundred." She smirked.

Alex gave a low whistle.

Derek, of course, saw her three hundred, and raised the pot another hundred.

Addison glanced curiously at Derek as she paid up. "I raise you one table at the DC Pediatric Benefit."

"What?" Meredith peeked over at Derek's cards.

"Ten thousand," Addison replied as she stared at Callie.

Izzie's eyes bugged out. "Dollars?!"

George grabbed Callie's hand. "Fold. Fold now."

Callie shook her head. "It's for a good cause."

"You'd tell me if you were rich, right?" George raised his eyebrow.

Callie confessed. "I'm rich." She placed her bet, shocking everyone again, as Addison scowled at her.

Derek followed and winked at Addison. "What's next? Our annual donation to the ADA?"

"How about 10221 River Road?"

"A house?" Callie wrinkled her brow, confused. "You're betting a house?"

Addison ran her tongue over her teeth. "I'm betting a million-dollar beachfront property. Got something to match?"

"That's not fair! I don't have a house!" Callie protested.

Izzie's mouth dropped open. "You just bet ten thousand dollars in a poker game, and you don't have a house."

"That's a good point," Meredith agreed.

Derek couldn't believe her. "You're betting the beach house! You can't bet the beach house!"

"And why not?" Addison folded her hands on the table.

"It's not yours to bet!" Derek exclaimed.

Addison shook her head. "And whose is it?"

Derek huffed. He couldn't get out of that one without confessing their nuptials. "Fine. It's yours. But I'm betting the brownstone!"

Addison pounded her fist on the table. "That's not fair! That's another house! You have to think of something better!"

Alex tapped her on the shoulder. "What's going on?"

Addison crossed her arms. "Nothing." She tried to stare Derek down. "I'm betting the Benz!"

"Wait!" Callie stopped them. "You skipped me!"

Derek waved her off. "You folded like two rounds ago."

Callie sighed in defeat. "Fine." She turned to Addison. "You have a Mercedes Benz?!"

Addison nodded, and Alex hugged her. Alex kissed her cheek. "I'm so glad that you're here."

Derek, seeing this, frowned. "My entire Bon Jovi collection. Including the signed platinum."

Addison gasped. "Macy!"

Alex's voice lowered. "That's a little illegal, you know."

"She's not betting a person." Derek seemed ready to spit at her. "It's a name."

Meredith bounced a little in her seat. "Whose name? Whose name is it?!"

"It's our favorite name." Addison replied. "I'm betting the name of a daughter."

"Your daughter?" Izzie gestures between the two of them.

"No!" They exclaimed. Addison explained, "Whoever wins gets to name their first-born daughter Macy."

Meredith tugged on Derek's shirt. "Shouldn't you have consulted me first about this? Do I get a say in what our daughter is named?"

"All right." Addison sighed, annoyed. She didn't really want to think about Meredith and Derek's daughter. "Do you have a better bet, Derek?"

Derek thought for a moment. "I bet your impending departure from Seattle."

Addison leaned forward on her elbows, intrigued. "How so?"

"If you win, I will get off your case about moving here. But if I win, you have to stay." Derek challenged.

Addison tapped her fingers on the table. She was confused, as he kept changing his mind about her. "I guess I have no choice." She closed her eyes to think of something that would make him give.

Her eyes snapped open when she realized her perfect bet. "Mark. I bet Mark."

Callie looked around the table. "Mark Sloan? Your husband? You're betting your husband?"

"Yep." Addison grinned.

George pointed at her. "Now, I know that's illegal!"

Derek threw his cards on the table. "I FOLD!" He laughed, and then stopped abruptly to pause. And then he started to laugh again.

Addison was laughing too, and Alex, but he wasn't sure what he was laughing about. Addison threw her hands in the air. "I get Macy!!"

Derek nodded, "Congratulations. I thought it would take you years to win that name."

"It's mine!" Addison raked in her winnings.

Derek leaned back in his chair. "I still have Josh and Alexandra."

Meredith piped up, "I like Josh."

Addison ignored her. "Whatever, Derek. Those are my next targets."

They shook hands. "Good game." Addison whispered to him, "And you should know that, when you were gone, I stole the Bon Jovi's."

Derek shook his head. "I knew you would."

George looked at them, and tilted his head. "Am I missing something?"

Callie laughed at them. "I think we all are."

Izzie grabbed all of the cards. "I think it's time to put these away before someone wastes away their pension fund." She eyed Addison and Derek.

Addison waved her off. "Oh, we're just having fun."

George scratched his head. "I think I'm still a little confused on how you two know each other."

Addison looked down at the floor, so Derek spoke for her. "We've been friends since our second year of medical school."

"Really?" Callie shrugged. "I guess I just didn't stay that close with my med school friends."

A chorus of agreement came from around the room. After four years of spending every living second with each other, it was only to be expected.

Addison leaned into Alex. "I guess we were just special." She laughed and grinned, one of her Addison smiles, the smiles that she put on when she didn't want anyone to see her weakness.

"Did you intern at the same hospital?" Meredith asked.

"Yes." Derek and Addison answered at the same time.

"And worked there as attendings too," Addison added.

"Wow." Everyone was definitely impressed. Meredith became a little jealous at the obvious intimacy between them. "Okay, I think it's time for the party to end."

"Awww," Izzie complained.

Callie checked her watch. "Oh! It's one. I didn't realize the time." She looked at George seriously. "We have to go."

"What?" George was kind of tipsy, and Callie pulled him up out of his chair. She whispered, "We have to get there before the graveyard shift starts, or else they're going to see us!"

"Oh!" George smiled. "Right. Bye!"

Everyone said their goodbyes, which left Meredith, Derek, Addison, Alex, and Izzie. Izzie yawned, "Well, I'm going to go to bed." The truth was, she didn't want to stay and clean up. She dashed out of the room before they could say anything.

Derek was really uncomfortable, with his girlfriend, wife, and his wife's love interest (?) all in the same room. Meredith couldn't tell that anything was wrong, but he awkwardly made a move up the stairs after Izzie, "I think I'm going to grab the shower, you know, before you, Mer. I'll be done when you come up."

Meredith waved to him, and turned back around. "Now, don't think you're going to get out of here. I need some help with this."

Alex picked up a few coffee mugs, and touched Addison on the small of her back. "Actually, Mer, I was wondering if Addison could possibly stay the night."

Meredith grinned, "Sure."

Addison almost threw a cup at him. "Why don't you try asking me if I want to stay first?"

"You're not driving home," Alex sighed, "You don't have a car, and you've been drinking too much."

"I've had one glass of wine!" Addison placed the cups in soapy water.

"I don't want anything to happen to you. I'd feel much better if you were here." Alex gave her his puppy dog eyes, so she agreed.

Meredith couldn't stop smiling. They were so cute. Maybe Alex had found his soul-mate.

"I'm not happy about this," she explained, as Alex clapped his hands together in joy.

She walked over to him, and asked softly, "Could you do me a favor and give us some privacy? I need to talk to Meredith."

"Anything for you." Alex bowed a little, and jumped excitedly upstairs.

"Do you need something?" Meredith was still smiling.

Addison played with her hair. "I was just going to say, um, Derek- well, Derek-" She stopped to think, "You should know that Derek- he left me all alone in New York." She paused. "And you know as well as I do that Derek can make you feel beautiful, and incredible, and brilliant," she rolled her eyes sarcastically as she spoke, but then her voice turned low and hard, "but he also has the ability to make you feel worthless, and guilty, and- and used. And I just thought you should know that."

Meredith frowned. She wasn't used to hearing bad things about Derek.

Addison continued, "I just don't want him to hurt you."

"It's different between us. You're friends." Meredith shook her head. "We're in love."

Addison swallowed. "You're right."

"I told him to apologize for being so rude to you."

Addison spoke quietly. "He did, and he was very nice to me. And I'm talking terribly about him. I'm sorry."

"Oh." Meredith sighed. "It's okay."

"I guess I should head up to bed," Addison ran her hand against the counter.

"With Alex." Meredith finished in a sing-song voice.

Addison gave her a knowing look. "Thanks for letting me stay here."

"I'm running a hostel, in case you didn't notice." Meredith smiled.

"Yeah." Addison smiled back, and she went upstairs to Alex.

Alex had tried to climb into bed with her, but she kept getting out and lying on the floor. Finally, he put her on the bed, and slept on the floor himself.

Although Alex passed out as soon as his head hit the floor, Addison couldn't sleep. But it wasn't until she heard the giggling and movement in Meredith's room that she felt the urge to vomit. Her husband was cheating on her with just a thin wall between them. She couldn't stay there with them in the next room.

So she left.

Meredith climbed into bed beside Derek. "Hey."

"Hey." He put down his book, and kissed her.

She laced their fingers together. "Tonight was eventful, wasn't it?"

Derek nodded, "It was."

"I didn't see that coming, about Addison's husband though," Meredith got a dreamy look in her eye thinking about him.

"Yeah." Derek cleared his throat.

She flipped onto her side. "Do you know why she cheated on him?"

Derek shrugged. "She's the devil incarnate?"

Meredith rolled her eyes. "Derek, you know she's not like that."

"Yeah." He smiled. "I know. I was just kidding. I really hope she stays."

"You guys are going to have to figure all of this stuff out, though, if she stays." Meredith warned.

Derek was curious. He'd thought they'd been careful and conspicuous. "Figure out what stuff?"

"You can't continue like this." Meredith thought this was evident. "You like her- you hate her. You can't be this fickle with your relationships. She's not going to hang around much longer. And I'm not saying it's all your fault, because obviously, she's done things too. But you should just sit down, and talk to her."

"I think we're fine where we are. We don't need to discuss this, Meredith." He closed his hand around the sheet. "And to be honest, it's not really any of your business."

"Sorry." Meredith shifted away from him. "I just feel stuck between you two, and I didn't do anything."

He pulled her back to him. "It's all right. That's myy fault. I said that our relationships wouldn't affect each other, and I'll try to maintain that better."

She was so small that she fit into him perfectly. Her tiny little arms around his neck, and his hands pressing into her back. "I love you."

He dragged his fingers through her hair. "Love you too." Derek couldn't stop thinking about all of the lies he had told her, and he felt incredibly guilty. "I'm so sorry."

She looked up at him. "For what?"

He sighed. "For everything that I've done." And for what he was about to do.

"Derek, you're the best boyfriend ever." She kissed his neck.

"I am so, so not." But he let her.

She kept kissing him, and she whispered in between kisses. "Did- you- have fun- tonight?"

He smiled. "Yeah. It was a lot of fun. I haven't played poker in years. Did you have fun?"

"It was fun to watch you be yourself."

"Meredith..." She slowly moved to straddle him. He loved it when her hair hung down in her face, like it was.

"What?" She played innocent.

He grinned. "Okay, but you have to be quiet."

Addison didn't get very far outside before Alex caught up with her. He grabbed her arm as soon as her foot hit the step outside of the door.

"Where are you going?"

Tears burned in her eyes. "I- I don't know." She realized she didn't have anywhere to go, or a way to get there. The night was cool, and the air hit her face refreshingly.

He stepped outside with her, and shut the door, shivering. "Do you want to do something?" He stood beside her, looking at the neighborhood. "We can go anywhere, as long as I'm back in four hours for rounds," he joked.

Addison sat down on the step, and tried to breathe. All she could think about was Derek and Meredith, and what they were doing and what she could here. "How can you talk to me like that? I don't even know you!"

Alex sat down beside her. "Why am I being nice to you? What kind of question is that?"

Addison shook her head, and hastily wiped the tears from her face. "I'm not a good person. You shouldn't be nice to me."

Alex leaned back and rested all of his weight on his hands and wrists. "Is that why you're crying? You shouldn't get hung up on stuff like that." He paused. "You cheated on you husband. So what? It's not like you can't be redeemed. You deserve good things. Like me." He smiled.

Addison laughed. "You sound just like someone I know."

Alex was quiet. He had poured his heart out to benefit her, and he was being voluntarily nice to a person. Why was she laughing? "Who?"

"Mark Sloan."

Alex had to laugh at the irony of it all. "Is that why you like me?" He put his arm around her.

"No." She smiled and leaned into him.

He was very happy that she was accepting his affections. "Seriously, though..." he spoke slowly and hesitantly, "I know there's something more between you and Shepherd-"

"Alex-" She didn't know what to say, but she wanted him to stop talking.

He talked over her. "And that this Sloan guy probably has something to do with it. But I don't care. You don't have to tell me right now. I trust you."

She put her hand in his. "That's really sweet of you and all, but you're talking as if I have a future here. I'm leaving after I operate on Mrs. Phillips."

"No, you aren't." He insisted confidently. "You're stuck here."

She sighed sadly. "Might as well accept my fate."

"Yep." He held her tighter. "Are you going to tell me why you're crying?"

She pulled away from him, and he scooted back towards her. "You can tell me. I promise."

She pressed her palm into the sharp stone of the step. "I couldn't sleep. I hate it here. And I could hear them."

"Hear who?" He asked slowly. He had no idea what she was talking about.

She looked up in the sky. "Derek and...Meredith."

"Through the wall? Yeah, they're really loud, but you get used to it after about a week."

She winced, and another flood of tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Oh." He stopped to think. "Are you- did you and Shep..."

She didn't say anything.

He wasn't sure what to do. "Was he the one?"

She looked at him, frightened.

"Who you- with- on your husband?"

Addison breathed a sigh of relief. "No." He deserved to know the truth, but it was too soon. "He's just my friend, and it's terrible, but I hate it when other women take him away from me."

"Oh, okay." Alex shivered for the sixth time. "Listen. I'm having a ton of fun, but it'd be wonderful if we could go inside."

Addison looked to the door reluctantly.

"They're probably done..." Alex smirked, "Shepherd usually doesn't last too-"

She groaned as he stood up and offered her his hand.

"Sorry," he apologized. "It's just- they're pretty much an accepted fact around here."

"Yeah. I noticed." She stopped him before he could open the door.

"Not a problem." He leaned in and kissed her softly.

Once again, she was being a adulteress whore, but it would be a lie to say that Addison wasn't enjoying herself. She felt safer than she had since she arrived in Seattle. She didn't worry about what he was thinking, or what was going to happen afterwards. She smiled into his lips. This was bad, but, _oh, _it felt so good.

He didn't want to pull away for air, but he had to. "Mmmm. Babe."

"Hey." She put a finger to his lips. "What did I say about calling me that?"

"Sorry." He grinned. "Dr. Montgomery."

"Let's go inside." She made hi move backward, so she could open the door. He eagerly stepped in and cupped her ass. She slapped his hand away. "Stop it!"

Now, he seemed confused. "What?"

She smiled at him seductively. "This doesn't change anything. I'm still married."

The walked to the bedroom, and Alex still had a confident look on his face.

Addison put a hand on his chest to stop him. "I'm serious, Karev. Don't get any ideas. I don't want to lead you on."

"Okay," Alex agreed.

He didn't seem very upset. "You know what that means, right?"

"Yes." He smiled. "No sex."

"That's right," She nodded, and proceeded to sit on the bed.

Alex was getting ready to go back to his place on the floor, when she laughed. "You can sleep up here, I guess."

Alex snatched his pillow up off the floor, and was in the bed in less than two seconds. He lay down on his back while she leaned against the headboard. They were quiet for a few minutes, then out of nowhere, Alex spoke. "You're really hot when you're all bossy."

"Dr. Karev!" She tried to maintain the highest sense of professionalism.

He rolled over to face her. "Yeah, baby. That's what I'm talking about."

She screamed through clenched teeth. "That is inappropriate and so far _over_ the line."

Alex continued, "You're like a dominatrix. I should buy you a whip. But who are we kidding? You probably already have one."

Addison buried her face in her hands. This was so mortifying.

"And handcuffs!"

"Oh my God!" She stood up, flinging the sheets over him. "I am going to the bathroom!"

"Awww, come on." He pleaded. "I was just kidding. Honest."

She smiled, to show him that she knew he was joking. Still, he called after her,

"I respect you and your body!"

Addison walked into the bathroom, and flipped on the light. Derek was sitting on the toilet. "Addison!"

"Oh!" She wasn't sure if she should turn around or not, so she faced the mirror, to her side. "Sorry! I'll just give you a..."

"It's okay," He stood up and flushed. "I was done anyway. I just didn't realize you were staying." He stepped over to the mirror, and began to wash his hands.

"Yeah." Addison's eyes darted around. "Meredith, well, Alex invited me to stay over." She couldn't look him in the eye. "Since when do you use the bathroom in the dark?"

"Since I don't like bright light in my constricted pupils."

Addison looked at herself in the mirror. "Why aren't you using Meredith's bathroom?"

He dried his hands on a nearby towel. "What is this, an interrogation? Meredith's in her bathroom."

Derek shut the door.

"Why did you do that?" Addison finally looked him in the eye.

"I wanted to have a moment where we could just be ourselves without lying."

Addison let out a breath. "This feels nice."

He shook his head. "What are we going to do?"

Addison laughed. "I have no idea."

He looked up, and gave her a sheepish smile. "I had fun tonight."

"I think our version of poker is much more fun." Addison giggled.

"I would have to agree." Derek leaned against the door.

"It's fun when we're happy." Addison observed.

Derek's head fell back against the door. "Why can't we just stay like this? Friends with secret meetings in the bathroom."

Addison fell silent. She looked at the marble sink, and ran her hand around the smooth surface.

"Don't you have to go to the bathroom?" Derek asked, and pointed to the toilet. "I won't look, I promise."

"I don't actually have to go..." Addison trailed off. "I just wanted to get out of there." She motioned to Alex's room.

"You were in Alex's room?" Derek wasn't quite sure what to think about that. "Did he try something?"

Addison looked to the ground and tried to smile. "Not really. He was just kidding."

"Did you hear...?

She nodded, and tears welled up in her eyes.

"I'm sorry." He appeared genuine. "I honestly wouldn't have...if I knew you were here."

She looked away, and her voice cracked a bit. "It's okay. I suppose you have every right to. I was sleeping in another man's bed."

Derek tensed up. "You and Karev...?"

Addison playfully hit him, which seemed out of context with her tears. "No! I wouldn't do that."

"Good," Derek nodded. He realized he was a hypocrite, but it wasn't the time to be morally critical. "Are you going to stay?"

Addison hesitated. "I might. But we don't have a choice. Either way we have to tell them. Bite the dust."

"I can't." Derek turned away.

"We have to!"

"She means everything to me!"

Addison's breath hitched. "Then why are you doing this?"

Derek whipped back around, and kissed her. He pressed her against the counter, and lifted her up. One hand went to her cheek and face, and the other rested on her thigh. Their tongues swirled around each other, and she made it a point to rock into his body. He groaned. "You taste exactly the same."

She grabbed the back of his head before he could pull away. "Don't leave me." She kissed him, sucking on his bottom lip.

Okay, Derek thought. One last time. His hands traced over her shoulders, down her sides, and up her legs.

She grabbed his hand. "No, Derek!" Her dark eyes stared into his. "Not right after. It's been twenty minutes."

He rested his head on her shoulder. It was only an impulse. He wouldn't have done it. "I think I'm finished. For good."

"No, Derek." She pulled him back and breathed her words on to his lips. "Please. Don't. Later."

He shook his head and recollected himself. "Not later. You're the same person, Addison."

"But I'm different."

A/N: So, Addison's a little bit of a tease. And Derek's a little bit of a whore. I swear, though, they weill redeem themselves in the next chapter. Or at least, stop being so fickle.

I wrote a lot. So, consequently, the next chapter won't be up for a while. Sorry, kids.

BTW, I know next to nothing about poker. I hope it wasn't confusing. :-/

I feel really bad for Alex. He's so cute. He'll get his shot too though. They all get their time in the limelight. I miss writing Meredith. I think next chapter is going to be a Meredith chapter. Or not. I don't know. It's either the last, or second to last chapter in this section so be prepared!! :)

Your reviews were amazing!! It would be fantastic if we could do a repeat performance. That would MAKE MY DAY.

Adios, chicas.


	6. Natural Perspective

**Elizabethan Love: Mistken Identity and White Lies **

_Viola: Why do you speak to me? I never hurt you:  
You drew your sword upon me __without__ cause;  
But I bespoke you fair, and hurt you not._

_Orsino: One face, one voice, one habit, and two persons,  
A __natural__ perspective, that is and is not!_

_  
_Yawning, Addison decided it was much nicer to wake up snuggled in a pair of strong arms than to wake up alone in a cold bed. Alex's arms were stronger than George's. George's arms had hung limply around her stomach, but Alex gripped her tightly, the way she liked. She needed to be held like that, almost too tightly, in order to feel safe and loved. Derek used to be an expert at it, but Mark could never hold her the way she wanted; he was always afraid of breaking her. George was like Mark. But Alex was proving to be competition for Derek in this department.

She was surprised that she didn't mind being here with him. She was getting used to being around him. It had been nerve-wrecking last night, but now that she knew him better, they were comfortable.

She rolled over, and faced him. He was still asleep. As she tried to squirm away, her legs tangled in the sheets, and he pulled her close, like a good boy. She wanted to stay here and fall back asleep, but she knew that would be a bad idea.

She pushed on his shoulders, and twisted around in his arms, but he still held her tight. She laughed. He was definitely awake now, although his eyes were still shut.

"Get off..." she groaned, teasingly. He loosened his grip, and went out of his way to stay in physical contact until she was completely out of the bed. She stumbled around the room, searching for some proper clothes. She pulled on a jacket, his, and much too oversized for her. She was wearing boxers (his or George's, she didn't know), and the tanktop that she wore under her blouse the day before.

He grinned. "You're beautiful."

She smiled a cheesy smile, and pretended to be bashful. "Thanks, handsome." She walked over to him, and ruffled his hair. He took advantage of the opportunity, and ran his hand up her oh-so-lengthy leg.

"Alex!" She yelped, and jumped out of his reach. "You have to stop doing that!"

"What?" He played innocent.

She knelt down on the ground, and crawled over to him. "I'm sorry." She made a pouty face. "But I am not sleeping with you."

"Never?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Never." She confirmed.

He rolled on to his back, frustrated. He rubbed his eyes a little. "I wish you would just give me a chance."

"Fine." She gave in, and stood up.

His eyes widened hopefully, "We can have sex?" She shot him a disapproving look. "I mean, have a polite, respectful relationship and make love gently?"

"Stop it," she scolded. She wished he would stop making fun of her upstanding morals. God knows she needed the karma.

"What are you thinking?" he asked.

She bit her lip. Tough question. A million thoughts were shooting through her head at the moment. "I'm thinking...that soon you will learn not to be so eager, and that makes me sad."

"What?" He shook his head. "Don't worry. You can't get rid of me."

"Ohhhh...just hold on to that thought." She moved as if she was going to leave.

He sat up. "Just tell me."

She shrugged, "I guess I just have the feeling that everything is going to explode soon. So, do me a favor, and hold on tightly. I don't want you to get blown away."

Alex hated metaphors.

* * *

Addison and Alex made it down the stairs just as Meredith and Derek were making coffee, and having a couple-y moment. Alex cleared his throat, and led her inside the kitchen. Derek immediately pulled his face away from Meredith's, and mumbled, "Good morning." He noticed Addison's attire, disapprovingly. He didn't like seeing her in another man's clothes, but he thought this reaction seemed appropriate, regardless of their relationship.

Addison half-smiled. "Good morning." She wished she could get used to seeing him with another woman, but it was proving to be impossible.

Alex and Meredith simply nodded at each other. They were all very quiet until Alex asked, "Where's Izzie?"

"She already left," Meredith answered.

An awkward silence fell over them. Addison hated moments like these. It was almost painful.

"Oh." Alex took Addison by the arm, and pulled her with him. He opened the cabinet and took out two coffee cups. He gave one to Addison, and poured a cup of coffee for himself. Then, he sat down at the table, and waited for her to join him.

Derek and Meredith huddled in the opposite corner of the room, whispering, and Addison stood between them and Alex, empty coffee cup in hand. "What's for breakfast?" She asked, confused.

Alex stood up from his seat. "Sorry," he apologized, "we usually don't eat anything before our shift." He opened the pantry door. "But we do have cereal."

"It's stale," Derek warned.

"You don't eat breakfast?" How could they work an entire day without eating breakfast? Did Derek eat breakfast here? Or did he not eat breakfast anymore, like them? Everything had changed. She missed having breakfast with him. But, obviously, he was doing just fine without her.

Meredith shook her head. "Nope."

No wonder the poor girl was so tiny. "But I always have breakfast," she insisted, hoping to remind Derek of how they used to make feasts of eggs, pancakes, toast, and fruit, all for a simple Wednesday morning.

Alex thought Addison was disappointed in him, and he felt badly. "Stay again tonight, and I'll get up early to make you breakfast tomorrow. Are you sure you don't want cereal?" This gave him an excuse to ask her to stay again. He was used to sleeping alone, but now, he didn't ever want to go back. He liked having a warm body next to him.

"I was thinking of something along the lines of pancakes and eggs." She bit her lip, and looked up at him hopefully.

He glanced at the clock and smiled. "Well, we don't really have time..." They did have time, but he didn't want to spend his morning with Shepherd and Meredith all over each other. Plus, he didn't really know how to make pancakes or eggs, and he didn't want to look stupid.

Derek spoke up. "I could go for some eggs." He winked at Addison, and she smiled. He remembered, and they were getting along.

"I make wonderful eggs. You'll love them. I promise." Addison moved very close to him, pressing into him and finally wrapping her arms around his neck. She wanted to stay here, so she could keep an eye on Derek, and this was the only way. Did it make her a bad person if she also enjoyed Alex's company?

Their bodies, and faces so close, she was practically begging to be kissed, Alex thought. He pressed his lips to hers very quickly, and she seemed to submit for a moment before grabbing his shoulders and pushing him back. "Stop it," she warned. He wasn't supposed to kiss her. It was hard, though, because he was such a good kisser, and she liked him.

But she loved Derek, and promptly pulled away from Alex. Meredith grinned, and Derek gave them both icy stares. He gripped Meredith's hand tightly, and kissed her cheek.

Addison attempted to ignore them, and made her way to the refrigerator. "So, do you guys _have _eggs?"

"Yes." Meredith pointed to them. "Izzie makes cookies, and muffins, and brownies, and other various recipes that require eggs."

"Izzie bakes?" Addison sounded interested, and smiled. "I think we're going to be friends."

"So you're going to stay?" Alex was hopeful. He rested his head on her shoulder. "Please?" He didn't want her to leave before they got a shot at a real relationship.

"I haven't decided yet. And I'm not going to unless you stop pressuring me." She cracked a couple of eggs into a bowl. "Scrambled or over-easy?"

"Scrambled." Alex wrapped his arms around her waist. "You know you're going to stay anyway. Just admit it."

"This is what I'm talking about!" She wriggled in his arms until he settled for just resting a hand on her waist. "You're pressuring me!" She couldn't stand it. She didn't want him getting excited about her. She didn't want to break his heart.

Derek came up on her other side, Meredith in tow. "Addie, just stay."

She didn't know why he wanted her to stay. It would effectively ruin everything that he had built here. "I don't know..."

Meredith looked at her pleadingly, her back against Derek's chest. "You should stay." She needed Addison for insight into the oftentimes odd behavior of Derek Shepherd.

Derek was grinning at her through Meredith's hair, and Addison wanted to break down and cry and scream, but she couldn't. Everyone noticed her eyes change, but only Derek recognized what it meant.

He didn't let go of Meredith, even though he knew Addison was sad. Sometimes, he wanted to make her feel a little of how he had felt. He knew it was bad, but he couldn't help it. He watched her stutter before Alex came to her rescue, much to his dismay.

Alex nuzzled her shoulder. "Whatever. We all know you're going to stay, so it doesn't matter." He paused. "And if you don't flip the eggs, they're going to burn."

"Oh!" Addison whipped around, and immediately flipped the eggs. "Don't worry. They're still good."

They all laughed as Addison served the eggs, and they settled down at the table. Alex and Addison pushed their chairs together, as did Meredith and Derek, so the two couples sat at opposites ends of the table. The environment turned from friendly to tense as Alex casually draped his arm around the back of Addison's chair, and Meredith rested her head on Derek's shoulder. The marital couple eyed each other nervously as they chewed on their eggs.

"These are good," Derek looked at Addison, and she looked down at the table.

"Thanks." It had been a long time since he had actually complimenting her on something.

Alex noticed Derek staring at her, and he wrapped his arm tighter around her. "These are..." He kissed her on the jaw. "...delicious." Kiss on the cheek. "Like." Kiss behind her ear. "you." Kiss on her neck.

Addison was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with his sentiments, and tilted away from him, only stretching out more of her neck for him to kiss.

Meredith didn't even notice them, and instead was gazing up adoringly at Derek, enjoying the feel of his stubble against her nose. Derek kissed her hair, and watched Addison and Alex. They were making him angry, so blunt with their relationship. How did Alex know what Addison tasted like? That shouldn't be something that Alex was familiar with. He was looking to point out the flaws in their relationship. Not because he was jealous, but because he wanted the best for Addison, he told himself.He waited for Alex to stop, and start eating again, before he asked, "So...how long have you guys known each other?"

Alex shrugged, "Day and a half, two days. Somewhere around there." He didn't seem embarrassed at all, but Addison was burying her red face into Alex's shoulder. He tipped her chin up, and asked her, "What's wrong?"

Addison groaned and shook her head. Derek answered for her, "She's embarrassed. As you should be."

He said this rather matter-of-factly, and Meredith smacked him on the arm. "Don't be like that."

Alex pretended not to care, when, in fact, he was really angry with Derek. Derek was just pushing the wrong buttons. "Why should we be embarrassed?"

"Horny teenagers have more self-restraint." Derek dropped his fork on his plate with a loud clatter.

Addison leaned away from Alex to distance herself as much as possible, and fingered the edge of her boxers she was wearing. Once again, she couldn't look anyone in the eye. Lately, this was happening much too frequently.

"Derek!" Meredith was getting offended, especially since Derek was desperately trying to convince Addison to stay just a few minutes ago. "What has gotten into you?" He didn't usually behave like this. It wasn't very McDreamy of him.

Alex crossed his arms, mad that Derek caused Addison to move away from him. "And how long did you know Meredith before you slept with her?"

"Touché." Meredith commented, and she hoped this was all over.

No such luck.

"That was different!" Derek defended. He didn't like anyone criticizing his relationship with Meredith, especially the guy who might be sleeping with his wife.

"How was that different?" Alex challenged. "Two people who met at a bar who were lonely and enjoyed each others' company."

"Is that what you kids are calling it these days?" Derek smirked arrogantly, and took a drink of his orange juice.

Addison still didn't say anything. Derek was being an ass, and she knew it was best not to get involved now. She'd let him have it later, though.

Alex's hand fell loudly, and smacked the wooden table. "You would think a neurosurgeon would be smart enough not to make assumptions, especially on matters as sensitive as this." He glanced at Meredith pointedly. "And I'm not a kid. I'm an adult and I deserve to be treated like one."

"He's right." Meredith agreed. Intern power.

"I wasn't trying to offend you!" Derek really didn't want Meredith to be on Alex's side.

Meredith ran her hands calmingly through his hair. "Don't get so worked up." She kissed him. "And under my roof, you treat everyone respectfully, regardless of what their status at the hospital may be."

"It's fine, Meredith." Alex tilted his head in a conceited way. "I'm not bothered by the rude remarks of hypocrites."

Derek's mouth dropped open in surprise. He knew that Alex had the potential to be bluntly honest, but he never expected to be attacked personally. "I'm not a hypocrite!"

* * *

Addison felt like she could get up and leave, and no one would notice. They didn't even know she was there. She hated when people talked about her, instead of talking to her.

"So, then, it's okay for me to date Addison, because you're doing the exact same thing with Meredith."

Date? Derek didn't know they were 'dating'. They just met! "It's not the same thing! She's married!" Derek subconsciously clenched his fists. Was he going too far? He didn't want to invite any questions, but it seemed like he had lost control of the part of his brain that censored the words before they came out of his mouth.

"Yeah, to a loser in New York who's so conceited that he didn't bother to pay attention to his amazing wife." Alex felt Addison sneak her hand on to his knee, and he looked at her, worried.

"Hey!" Derek pointed his finger at Alex. "Watch it!"

"Why?" Alex knew Derek was going to have to reveal something.

"Because I don't want her to get hurt!" Derek's fingers twitched on Meredith's arm.

"Awww." Meredith smiled back at Derek. McDreamy was back.

Addison looked at Derek, confused, and Alex practically had steam coming off of his head. "You automatically assume I'm going to hurt her."

"Well, considering your track record..." Derek trailed off.

"Track record?" Addison looked at Alex. She hadn't heard of this track record, except for what Callie had told her, and she had thought Callie was kidding.

"Don't listen to him." Alex told her. "He doesn't know what he's talking about." His eyes darted to Derek.

"Izzie, Olivia, Meredith..." Derek listed, rolling his eyes.

"Derek!" Meredith hissed.

"I'm telling the truth!"

Alex reluctantly turned his head to Addison. He didn't want to see her reaction. He knew it would be bad. She was leaning back in her chair, a glazed look in her eyes. She was staring at some point on the edge of the table. "Meredith?" She sighed.

"Yeah?" Meredith answered.

"No." She looked at Alex. "I'm asking him if you two..."

"No!" Alex insisted. "I never had anything to do with Meredith."

"Unless you count sexual harassment..." The pitch in Derek's voice rose suspiciously. Meredith didn't say anything.

Addison knew that this could easily be true, but she prayed that it wasn't. She considered leaving right then and there, but she didn't have the strength to get up out of her seat. She felt out of breath, and she was tired of crying over men.

"Son of a bitch." Alex pushed his chair away from the table, as if he was going to stand up, but he didn't. "I like her! I like her enough not to ruin it all by sleeping with her."

"Right." Derek raised his eyebrows sarcastically.

Alex muttered under his breath. "Asshole."

"Now, Alex..." Meredith scolded, "The respect thing goes both ways." She didn't want to have a fistfight in her house. It might scar Derek's pretty face.

Alex was gripping the edge of the table rather tightly and Addison was afraid that he was going to do somehting that he would regret. She put her hand on his shoulder, and he grabbed it, bringing it down into his lap. "Not that it's any of your business, but I'm crazy about her. I know that sounds insane, but..." He stole a glance at her. She seemed extremely nervous, but she didn't pull away. He could feel her hand shaking in his.

"Look at her!" Derek gestured to Addison. "She's terrified!" He wanted to go to her, but he didn't want to leave Meredith. Alex didn't know what to do, how to calm her. Alex was just scaring her, with his inability to commit, and innuendo-filled remarks, and it made Derek's heart ache for her.

"Who are you to say what I'm feeling?!" Addison was almost screeching at Derek. Her voice rose in pitch, and it cracked. "Will you just stop talking about me as if I'm not here?"

Her face was getting paler by the second, and Alex was getting worried. "Addison." Her chair had strayed from him, and he grabbed it by the seat and pulled her back. His arm went around her back, and his lips found their way to her temple. "It's okay." He handed her his glass of orange juice. "Drink this."

She set the glass back down. "Stop it." She looked up at him. A few strands from her ponytail had fallen into her face. She was trying to see right through him. She didn't know who she could trust or believe. "I don't know what you want and I don't want to be with someone who's just interested in sex. I'm not going to cheat on my husband again." She desperately wanted to look at Derek, but she knew that would give everything away.

Alex stared into her eyes, and squeezed the hand that was in his. "I don't want to do this in front of them." He whispered, as he stood up. He spoke to Derek and Meredith, "We need a few minutes of privacy. We'll be right back."

He led Addison into the living room, leaving Meredith and Derek with confused looks on their faces. He kissed her quickly when they were safely hidden behind the wall. "You need to get a divorce. Soon."

"No." Her eyes narrowed at him.

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"Don't tell me what to do!" She pushed his hands away. "We aren't a couple, and I don't want you defending me as if we were."

"Stop lying to yourself." The brutally honest Alex was back. He was tired of being soft with her when she was just going to turn a blind eye to the truth, and reject him. "We've shared a bed, we've talked and kissed. You are cheating on your husband. But it doesn't matter because he's not going to be your husband anymore."

"I hate you." She scratched her nails down the wall, and felt a little better. "You're slutty, and offensive, and you hurt my feelings. You don't know anything about my marriage."

Alex took a deep breath. She forgot that she poured her heart out to him a night ago. "I'm sorry." He paused. "I guess that was too harsh. But every kiss is an affair, and you can't ignore it."

"I don't want to kiss you anymore." She was about to cry. She knew it.

"You're only like this when Shepherd's around. Let's get out of here, and maybe you can think without him clouding your head." Shepherd was annoying Alex too. He couldn't stand being around that man another second.

Addison hated it when Alex talked like that about Derek. He was insulting her best friend, and husband, no matter how accurate his assessment was. "I'm not leaving yet. You can go without me." She held her tears in.

"Fine." They walked back into the room, only to find Meredith and Derek sharing a soft kiss. Derek saw Addison, and immediately thrust his tongue into Meredith's mouth, hoping to make her jealous. Meredith couldn't see Alex and Addison, and she moaned.

Addison cringed, and Alex quietly pinned her up against the refrigerator and kissed her passionately. Derek, in turn, pulled Meredith up on to his lap. Alex was about to stroke his hand up Addison's leg and pull her legs around his waist, when, out of the corner of her eye, Addison saw Meredith and Derek. It was one thing to hear them, another thing to see them in action. Meredith was giggling and smiling, and whispering, "They're going to come back soon, Derek. We've got to stop now, or else I'm not going to be able to."

As soon as Addison saw Derek's hands shoot into Meredith's pajama bottoms, she slid down the refrigerator, taking a bunch of magnets with her. Alex tried with all of his strength to hold her up, but her body was a dead weight, and she ended up on the floor with him awkwardly half-laying, half-leaning on her. She pulled her legs up to her chest, and rested her chin on her knees. Tears fell silently down her face, and she wiped her nose unattractively with the back of her hand.

Derek was touching Meredith right in front of her. She squeezed her eyes shut.

Derek looked over, and noticed that he couldn't see Addison and Alex anymore. They were on the floor, hidden by a counter. All he could see was Alex's legs kicking out from the end of the counter. They were actually going to have sex in front of him.

No, he wasn't going to let that happen. He picked up Meredith, and set her on the floor. He made his way to the other side of the counter in two long, fast strides. He grabbed Alex by the collar, and threw him off of Addison. "Get off of my wife!!"

Alex jumped up, hands in the air, ready to defend himself. "I wasn't on her! And you know how much she hates it when you kiss Meredith in front of her! I don't know why she does, but she hates it and you know it! Why would you do that?!"

Meredith grabbed Alex's arm, with a look of disbelief on her face. "Wait." She looked at Derek coldly. "Derek. What did you just say?"

Addison stood up next to Derek. Derek put his hand on her back, then took it away, and it hovered over her shoulder, side, hand, and finally dropped at his side, not sure that touching Addison would be exactly appropriate. Alex and Meredith waited, their last bit of hope hanging in the moment of silence Derek granted them.

"Addison is my wife."

* * *

A/N: Yippee. End of the first section.

The next part is fun!! Meredith and Alex have some interesting reactions. I suggest you put me on author alert, instead of just the story because you wouldn't want to miss the next section. Or you can look for Elizabethan Love: Taming of the Surgeon. Yeah. It's going to be crazy cool.

I'm nervous about the next section. Reviews would make me less nervous. :) You know what to do.

And you rock, by the way. All of you.

* * *


	7. New Section?

Umm. Hi, guys.

Just a little reminder that I updated, but it's under a new story. Elizabeth Love: Taming of the Surgeon pokes readers

Most of you got the message, but this is just in case.

Click on my name!!

K thanks.


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